Lost In Memory
by Zena HellFire
Summary: Animeverse (English version).A year and half after the end of the war against the Metarex,life has gone back to normal for Sonic and Co,at least until a certain black hedgehog suddenly comes back.But Shadow hasn't only two new companions with him, but also a whole world that, even if belonging to the past,still haunts him.What if that past somehow becomes "present" again? [Sonadow]
1. Back to Life

Hi everybody!

Lately I've become quite obsessed with Sonic and Co. after re-watching the anime and starting reading Archie comics. I've been reading some great fanfiction and so I felt like I wanted to write a story myself! I don't know the games very much (mostly because unfortunately I don't possess the consoles to play them) but I'm working on it!

So, the story is mostly Animeverse, even if there could be some reference to the games (especially about Shadow's past), and it's set about a year and half after the defeat of the Metarex. It is based on the English version, mostly because I liked Molly a lot and it was so sad when she died in the Japanese one! I need her alive, she is one of the main character actually! I'm trying to keep the characters as IC as possible, but if it seems to you that I'm not doing fine, please tell me!

The first chapters are maybe a little slow, because nothing really important happens. They are mostly about character's interacting and similar, but I promise that the real issue of the story will come soon. I'm not entirely sure of where I found the idea for the plot, but I hope you'll enjoy it!

Let me know if you think I should go on with the story!

**Edit 28/09: **I changed the title, 'cause I realized it wasn't quite fitting!

**Warnings:** the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, **don't read**, _please! _Rating is for future reference to violence!

******Disclaimer:** I **do not** own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.

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**Chapter 1 – _Back to life_**

It was a starry night. The sky was a sea of black and light, and the full moon shone like a dead sun, bathing the metal buildings with silver glows. A dark figure stared intently at the stars from the top of one of the many flat roofs, confusing himself with the surrounding shadows. His thoughts however were far away from where he was, in another world and in another time. The past he had believed forever gone had come back in the last months and now it haunted him every time he was alone with his solitude. Not that he minded too much. The memories were painful but they finally allowed him to know who he was and where he came from. Besides, even if some of them were absolutely dreadful, he could still easy the horror with the glimpses of joy and warm that also inhabited his past.

In particular, there was a figure that dominated almost all his memories. Long blond hair, deep blue eyes and the sweetest smile. She brought him both sadness and happiness, sorrow and comfort, hate and love. She had been the centre of his existence since his "birth" and she still held a relevant place in his heart, even after all that time. But her ghost was the one who haunted him the most as well. She had been gone for such a long time but the gentle pain was still so real and present in his mind and spirit. It filled him with melancholy and longing. She was his family, his sister, his best and only friend. With her death he had lost everything he possessed but his physical life. Too many times he had thought that he should have died with her that fateful day, but something had always held him from reaching out for her in the eternal darkness. A promise that he had made and that he had no intention of breaking. He had sworn he would have protected the planet she had loved so much and its life.

But then, even after he had actually kept his word by risking his own life, death hadn't taken him in her cold embrace. He had come back once again, with nor memory or identity and nothing to support him but the duty of protecting the universe and life in general. Now he knew that, deep down, he was still clinging hard on that old promise, defending with all his strength those living beings that she had loved without even knowing them. He was still standing out for them because he wanted to honour her memory.

Shadow sighed and put himself in a seated position. Now that he was able to remember all his past he found even harder to believe that he had actually survived the last battle. He had used all his energy, down to the last spark of it, and he had been caught in the middle of the explosion he had trapped in the chaos barrier. His body should have been disintegrated. But it seemed that, once again, Fate wasn't finished with him and he had been forced to rise again. After all he was the Ultimate Life Form. If there was someone who could have made it out alive that was him. Yet, he still knew that he would have died anyway if they hadn't by chance found his body fluctuating in the space. And, considering who had bumped into his broken form, he could no longer denied that there had to be some sort of destiny creeping into his life from time to time to give it an unexpected turn.

He shook his head at that thought. It was stupid and disturbing at the same time. He had never believed in that kind of things. He was persuaded that the universe was lead by pure chance and nothing was already written. But he couldn't help considering the other hypothesis every time he recalled all he had outlived to.

"Shadow!". A voice called his name, bringing him back to the present. "Oh, here you are! I've been looking for you for at least an hour!"

He moved his gaze from the sky and turned to face slightly irritated blue eyes that always reminded him of the ones he had lost long before. "Molly, it's you. Is something wrong?" he asked, ignoring the girl's impatient tone. "You should know where to find me. I always come here at night."

"Yeah, whatever! I haven't thought about it" she mumbled waving her hand at him. "Anyway, we were waiting for you! It's time for your weekly check-ups! We agreed that you would have them this evening since you said you were busy during the day."

"I know. I simply decided that I don't want to do them" he explained quietly. "There's no need. I'm fully recovered."

"You can't know if you are, you stubborn hedgehog! We have already gone through this last week. And the one before too" she insisted, crossing her arms. "Do it for me, if you don't care about your own well-being! I_ am_ concerned about your health. Not only because you defeated the Metarex and saved us all, but also because we have become friends! And, hey, I saved your life, don't forget it! If it wasn't for me you may still be fluctuating somewhere in the galaxy! You owe me!"

The black hedgehog glanced at her with a frown, but then surrendered. "Fine. Let's go and do those stupid tests. But this is the last time" he stated getting up. "Next time the "I saved you" card won't work, I assure you."

Molly smiled fondly, ignoring his slightly harsh tone. "You are the best, Shadow!" she cheered up as they started to walk side by side. "Abel was quite worried about you too. You are famous for your sudden disappearances and we know you always come back, but you are one of us! We can't help getting worried every time you go missing for a while."

Shadow mentally agreed with her. Abel, Molly and himself had grown closer in those months and he was starting to consider them as a family. It was a strange, warm feeling, one he had thought he would never experience again after the ARK tragedy. But he refrained from saying that aloud. He still wasn't fond about expressing his emotions, even with his friends. "That doctor is always too apprehensive towards me. I can take care of myself" he stated instead.

"Come on, you know that he has a soft spot for you. You are the only one he allowed in his lab all the time". The girl's smile widened playfully. "And you often join him! So it must mean that you care about him too!"

"It's one of the few places on this planet that hold some interest for me" he said, but he didn't try to deny her statement. "I think that getting to know something more about the genetic and the chemistry of my body could be useful for future battles. And the doctor seems to be the only one around here who can understand them. Besides, he is all too happy to study me."

"Well, he is a scientist and he is as curious as brilliant. Which means he is _very_ curious. He is happy to study everything he gets his hand on, so how could he resist the chance to have a close look at the Ultimate Life Form?" the orange-haired girl joked. "It's an once-in-a-lifetime chance for him! You should be flattered by his interest."

He nodded absently but didn't answer, his mind going briefly back to his memories. He wasn't exactly in the mood for joking or being sociable. Molly seemed to notice him because she put a hand on his shoulder.

"You miss your home, don't you? I can understand. I lost my planet and my people during the war and even if I'm happy here I still miss my old world at times" she mumbled sadly. "The race who inhabits this planet is almost the same as mine, and it makes everything much easier, but I'm still aware that they are not my kind. However, I also know that I'm not alone and that gives me strength. They welcomed me as one of them when my spaceship crashed on this planet and I'm not letting my sadness prevent me from enjoying my new life!"

Shadow shrugged, his frown getting deeper. "It's not like that. I don't have a place that I can call "home", Molly. I grew up in the space, among metal walls. There was only a person who gave me the feeling of "home", but she died long time ago. I belong to nowhere."

"But you still have friends, don't you? You must miss them. Rouge, Dr. Eggman and his robot, and also the other people you told me about…" she answered back stubbornly. "Don't tell me you never think about them!"

"They most likely think I'm dead. And it's better this way. I've brought them only troubles. Besides, less bonds I have the best is for me". His voice filled with bitterness. "Listening to what Abel says, I'm almost immortal, if I don't get killed. I've lost enough when Maria died more than fifty years ago. I'm not going to let time make me go through that pain over and over again for all eternity. I decided to stay alive and protect this world because I have the power to do it and because this is what Maria would want from me, but I can't get involved with it, even if she would surely wish I did. That's too much, I just can't, not even for her."

The girl kept quiet, not knowing how to respond to those harsh words. She couldn't deny them, they just stated the cruel truth, and she couldn't sooth in any way the sense of void they brought with them. Living forever when everybody else was fated to die was maybe the worst curse to her. It meant facing the awareness that you would be always alone in the end. And she couldn't blame her dark friend for wanting to avoid it, even if it meant shutting everyone out of his life. She just wished she could do something about it. Shadow didn't open up to her often, but when he did he just poured his heart out for her to listen, showing how much he trusted and valued her. That made her feel even more useless. The only thing she could do was offering him a chance to unload the emotions he usually kept for himself. "You said you belong to nowhere" she finally whispered, fixing her blue eyes in his crimson ones. "But that's not true. You are at home now, Shadow."

He quietly gazed back at her for a moment, then he turned away, cracking a small smile. Molly couldn't even imagine how much those words meant to him.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way along the corridors, until they got to the laboratory. Molly opened the door without knocking and they entered the huge room filled with the most complex and sophisticated instruments. The technology of that planet was one of the most advanced they had ever seen and the black hedgehog couldn't help thinking once again about how thrilled Eggman and a certain fox boy would have been if they had been able to see it. Besides, in the past months he had started to grasp how all that stuff worked and which principles were behind it, much to his personal satisfaction. For the first time after Maria's death he had allowed himself to follow his curiosity and impulses, getting to taste once again what living for real meant. And he had to thank his orange-haired friend and Abel for that.

The said scientist had his shoulders to them, as usual all absorbed in some kind of experiment. He was a fine young man, younger than you would expect after hearing all he had done and invented, in his late twenties, thin and tall in his always present white coat. His gray eyes sparkled with brilliance and intelligence, emerging from a mass of messy violet hair.

"Ehm…Abel?" Molly called out uncertain.

He put a hand up to stop her. "Wait! I'm getting there…" he exclaimed, his voice almost triumphant. "Just some more seconds and…". His long fingers moved quickly among the electric wires that emerged from a metallic form. "…Here! Yeah, I did!". He smiled with pure satisfaction, lifting up something similar to a cubic box with a big hole in the middle of its frontal face, and turning towards his two guests.

"What should that thing be?" the girl asked, glaring sceptically at the metal box. "A new kind of microwave?"

"Not exactly, Molly. It's a small but powerful portable scanner. It will permit me to study any object or living being without having to bring it in a special structure like this lab!". He sounded enthusiastic as a child who had just received the toy of his dreams. "Oh, Shadow, you are here too! Finally! I've been waiting for you all day! It's the perfect chance to test my new creature! You don't mind, do you?"

The hedgehog simply shook his head and approached the young man. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Just go and stand there. Keep your arms along your body!" the doctor answered, pointing the opposite wall and extracting a wire from nowhere. "It will take only a few seconds". He connected the box to his computer and positioned it with the hole facing Shadow. "You ready? Stand still!". He pressed some buttons on the keyboard and a bright ray departed from his invention, meeting the dark creature's body for a few moments. "Done! You can move, Shadow" he announced examining the data that had appeared on the screen. "Oh, yes! It works perfectly! And you seem to be in your best shape, my dark friend!"

"If I had known it would have been so fast I would have come here sooner" the dark creature mumbled, approaching the young scientist to look at his own tests results. "You did a fine job with that scanner, doctor."

"Thanks! I'm quite proud of myself! It took me several months of hard work, but it was surely worth the troubles!". Abel patted the scanner softly, then a pensive expression appeared on his face. "By the way, I've been making another study about the way your body metabolizes that "chaos energy", as you called it. I guess you already know how it works, but I still want to warn you. You shouldn't use it without the Inhibitor Rings. I've noticed that every time I've asked you to use it for my experiments your body has been affected. And with that I don't only refer to the fact that it drained you energies more than it normally does…"

"What are you talking about, doctor?" Shadow inquired raising an eyebrow. He didn't get why the man was going around the matter and didn't speak clear. He was aware that without the Rings he consumed more energy using his chaos powers. But it wasn't a great deal, he was back fine in an hour. Besides, he was more than glad to take the risk considering what the goal was. He didn't possess any chaos emerald at the moment and that could turn out to be a problem if an enemy showed up. He had searched around the whole planet, but he had found no trace of the gems. They must have scattered around the universe once again and finding them wasn't going to be easy, especially considering the fact he was stuck at the research station. Trying to find a compromise, he had asked the scientist to do some researches. If the Metarex had been able to create fake but still working emeralds he had no doubt that his new friend could do the same thing using the energy present in the hedgehog's body as a sample. And it quite worked. Abel had been able to create for him a device, shaped as a little pendant that he always wore, which contains something that resemble the emeralds powers. He really couldn't get why he shouldn't be using it. "Care to explain?"

"What I mean, Shadow, is that you are…having troubles controlling that energy. When you release it, it always comes out too powerful than it should" the young man explained. "At first I didn't notice, but as we went on with the tests I couldn't help starting to worry about it."

The creature finally grasped the meaning of the other words. "Are you saying that I could lose control and destroy this place without even understanding that is going to happen?"

"Yeah, something like that. So, until I find something to replace your Rings, we'd better stop. After all the goal is reached, you have your weapon again. Let's just keep it for when we would be really in danger, OK? You can fight without chaos powers. They told me you have become a master with guns too, haven't you?"

The hedgehog shrugged faking indifference, while deep down the last sentence had given him a certain degree of pleasure. One month before, while he was wondering around the city to find something that could keep him busy, he had run into the police shooting range. He had sneaked inside the building, wondering where those firing sounds came from, and had stopped there to watch the men training until one of them had noticed his presence. Instead of chasing him away the policeman had handed him his gun and challenged him, most probably because he was curious to see what the famous "alien of the research station" could do. He had his hard time not to laugh in the man's astonished face when he had shown himself to be almost better than the whole police force, even if he had never used a gun before. That had been fun and he had been pleased to discover that he had another secret talent. From that time he had been spending at least a couple of hours per day at the range. It was a nice and useful way to kill time. "They are not so difficult to use. Anyway, I'll do what you say, doctor. No more chaos energy until we find a new restrain" he agreed nodding. "I don't want to blow up this planet. I'll keep my powers more in check from now on."

"I'm sure nothing bad will happen. You are tough enough without having to use those powers, Shadow". Molly, who had stayed aside while they were discussing, joined them as well, a smile on her face. She was much more carefree and cheerful since she had established on that planet. After all now she had a life and a family again. "Now, why don't we go and drink to your success, Abel? It's already quite late, it's time for you to get out of this place!"

"You're right, Molly! I'm totally in!" the young man agreed, smiling back. "Let's go to my place, you can sleep there. Do you want to join us, Shadow?"

The black creature hesitated, but the girl prevented him from saying anything and answered in his place with force: "Of course he is coming!"

"Great! Then I can talk to both you about something else too! I'm sure you'll find the news quite interesting!" the doctor exclaimed with a wink. "We'd better get going!"

Shadow rolled his eyes but followed the two out of the lab without protesting. He knew that it would have been a useless waste of energy. Besides, he couldn't deny that he was curious to hear what the man was referring to. After all, every time the young scientist had said he needed to talk to them about something, he had found himself involved in some kind of complicated, crazy at a certain degree, but interesting project. Something he didn't mind at all.

**§§§§§**

Abel, as all his colleagues did, lived in the same building that hosted his laboratory, but on a different level. The labs were located in the underground part of the research station, while the personnel accommodations were on the highest floors. They were made of a small bedroom, a toilet and a kitchen that also served as a living room. The three were seated around the table set in the centre of the latter room, each with a glass of juice in hand.

"So, doctor, what do you wanted to tell us?" Shadow asked. He had let his two friends have their time toasting and chatting, but he was starting to get tired of sitting there and felt the need to go out on the roof again.

"Oh, right! Do you remember that spaceship we have talked about some time ago?" the young man said turning to face his black companion. "Well, I've actually worked on it in my spare time during the last eight months, and now it's almost done. About one more week and it will be able to travel through space!"

"Wait, what spaceship?" Molly interjected, taken aback. "Are you planning to leave, Shadow? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I won't stay here forever, Molly, you know it well. Not so soon, but one day I'm going to leave this place and travel around the universe" the hedgehog explained calmly. "I just mentioned it to the doctor by chance during the first month after my awakening, it was him who decided to build the ship following his own will. I didn't ask him to do it."

"I see…" the girl muttered, not completely convinced.

"Anyway, that's not what I was referring to!" Abel interjected, before the news totally wasted the mood. "I've built it because I wanted to go on a journey myself. It's made for a small equip, three or four people in total. And I wanted to ask if you two were interested in coming with me. I've already got the permission from my boss. It's a work trip actually, I've been given the task to gather data on some of the different species that inhabit the nearest galaxy to ours."

"And why do you want us to come with you?" Shadow questioned. There was a note of suspiciousness in his voice, as if he had already grasped what was coming next.

On the doctor's face appeared a knowing smile. "Well, first of all I will need someone who takes care of the ship and Molly is the best pilot I know. And you, Shadow, could be my assistant. You've become quite good and moreover you already work with me. It would be easier for me having to deal with someone who is already used to my methods. Secondly…". He got up and grabbed a folder from one of the shelves. "…I thought this could interest you". He took out a sheet and handed it to the dark creature.

The latter glanced at the document. It was a list of names, most likely the planets included in the project. One of them immediately caught his attention, not only because it was circled in red, but especially because it was more than familiar to him. Mobius. That confirmed his suspects. Molly, who was reading from behind him, noticed it too and her eyes lit up with understanding as soon as she put the information together.

"So, Shadow the Hedgehog, have I gained your interest?" Abel asked playfully, his smile growing wider. "Don't lie to me."

"You did, doctor, you did" Shadow answered giving him little smirk. "You always find the right way to get my attention."

"I thought you didn't want to go back to them!" Molly pointed out, shooting his dark friend a questioning look. "You told me earlier tonight!"

"That's true. I would never go back to them with the sole purpose of seeing them. But you were right earlier, I have to admit I do miss those idiots after all" he confessed, looking away. "I'd like to pay them a little visit, only to see their shocked faces at the news that I'm back from the dead once again. Moreover, I still have some matters concerning them I need to deal with". He didn't elaborate further, aware that the other two wouldn't ask about it. They had learnt quickly how much he valued his own privacy and respected it.

In fact the girl just nodded with a smile, giving a brief squeeze to his hand and Abel exclaimed, barely refraining himself from jumping around to express his elation: "Then it's settled! We'll leave as soon as everything is ready! I'm so excited! This will be my first intergalactic trip!"

Molly laughed at her older companion's genuine enthusiasm and even Shadow allowed himself a brief amused smile. That guy was for sure one of the most brilliant people he had ever met, but he could be really childish at times. He got excited too easily.

The Ultimate Life Form gazed out of the window, leaving to the girl the task to make their friend calm down. So there he was, after a year and half, going back to that world he had already touched twice before being forced to leave it. He wondered how it would go that time. For once he wasn't an enemy or an ally for any of them, he had no reason to step into their quarrels, but he was just a visitor with his own business to take care of. He wasn't sure of what he was going to do once he would be face to face with Sonic and companions once again, he couldn't even foresee what he was going to feel. But he couldn't deny that the prospective made him a slightly excited, even if he wasn't going to admit or show it for any reason.


	2. Troubles…again!

Hi guys! I'm back!

This is the second chapter of the story. I decided to post it since there are people who are following the story...Thanks a lot for showing interest! I really appreciated it!

So, after Shadow and Molly, we'll get to see how Sonic and his gang are doing! Everything is the usual, daily life and fights...is it?

Please review to let me know if the story it's worth enough to be carried on! I appreciate any kind of comment!

Enjoy!

**Warnings:** the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, **don't read**, _please! _Rating is for future reference to violence!

**Disclaimer:** I **do not** own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.

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**Chapter 2 – _Troubles…again!_**

Tails sighed as he gazed at the puddles of water and mud scattered everywhere on the floor. He surely couldn't prevent Sonic from going out for a run, not even if there was the Flood outside, but he still didn't get why that hardhead wouldn't use the towel he always left him in the hall for when he came back. The result was always a sleeping, still dump blue hedgehog on the couch and him having to clean up. The fox put his hands on his hips. It had already happened twice that week. That was really too much. Sonic was his best friend, he was like a big brother to him, but now he was going to give him a good telling-off.

"Sonic, wake up!" he called, approaching the sleeping figure. He shook the other's shoulder. "Come on, I know you can hear me!"

The hero of Mobius opened an eye. "Gee, Tails! What's up now?" he grumbled, still sleepy. "Has something happened?"

Tails didn't answered but simply pointed the floor, slightly tapping his foot. His best friend looked at what he was pointing and then cracked a nervous smile. "Come on, pal! Don't tell me you are upset because of a bit of water!" he tried.

"A _bit_ of water? You have flooded the living room _again_! Without mentioning the couch!" the younger complained crossing his arms. "I always let you do whatever you want, but since we shared this house you could at least clean up your own mess! I already do the cooking and most of the housework! So you could at least avoid me the overtime, couldn't you?"

Sonic stared at his little companion. He seemed really pissed off. Tails almost never got angry, especially at him, but he became quite dangerous the few times it happened. Not as dangerous as an upset Amy, but close enough. The fox boy would never hurt him physically but he could force him into the most boring and annoying possible tasks. "Listen, I'm sorry for it! It won't happen again!" he hurried up to say, trying to reassure his friend. "I'll clean up immediately, OK? And next time I'll take off my shoes and go straight to take a shower. Are you happy now?"

"I'll be happy when I see you doing it" Tails answered, but his voice already sounded less harsh. "Anyway, hurry up and clean this mess. There's something I need to ask you."

"Why don't you tell me now?" the hedgehog asked. "I can do two things at the same times, you know? Well, at least I usually can…". He laughed grabbing the cloth that was handed to him.

The young genius cracked a smile as well. There was no way he could stay angry at him. Sonic was the most important person in his life and during the past year and half he had been there every time he had needed him, offering that special silent comfort that only the blue hedgehog was able to give. Losing Cosmo had been hard, especially at the beginning, and it had taken him some time to accept that she had to do it to save the whole universe. That was her destiny, and nothing could have changed it. He shot a soft glance at the small tree that was growing outside the window. Thinking about her still made him sad, but now he could also appreciate her sacrifice.

He shook his head and came back to the present. "I'm just giving you another reason to do what I asked you" he stated with a little grin, leaving the room.

"Oh, you can be cruel, Tails!" Sonic joked, flashing him one of his big smiles. He hadn't missed the melancholy in his younger friend's eyes, but he acted as he had. There was no need to approach the subject. The fox knew that he was there for him. So he just focused on his task, curiosity pushing him to be as fast as possible. After all speed was totally his area.

So, ten minutes later, he joined Tails in the kitchen, a satisfied smirk printed on his face. "I'm done! I was quick, wasn't I?" he sang, letting himself fall on a chair.

The other looked up from the project he was examining and smiled. "I expected no less from you" he chuckled, shifting his tails. "So, about that thing. I was cleaning your room, even if it should have been your turn with the housework…But that doesn't matter now. I accidentally bumped into that wooden casket you keep on your night stand …". He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I know I shouldn't wander around your belongings, but I didn't do it on purpose. The box fell on the floor and opened!"

The blue blur shook his head. "Don't worry, pal! I would never be mad at you for something like that! You are my best friend, I don't mind you touching my things!" he reassured his little companion. "You don't need to feel sorry. It happens to be clumsy! Just go straight to the point."

The young genius hesitated a bit before speaking again. "Well, I couldn't help noticing what was inside among the other things. It's been a long time so I couldn't help wonder…Why do you still have Shadow's Rings?" he asked, sounding perplexed.

"So this is the big deal?". The blue hedgehog couldn't help but laughed at his friend's uncomfortable expression. "I was starting to get worried!". He crossed his arms and stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe: "I keep the Rings so I can give them back to that faker when he will grace us with his presence once again. I'm quite looking forward to it. It's been a while since the last time I had a real challenge. Old Egghead has not been giving me enough excitement lately. Shadow never failed me, instead."

"You think he is still alive? That crazy, Sonic!" the fox exclaimed, sceptical. "How could he have survived that explosion? He used all his energy!"

"We thought he was gone also after the ARK accident, but he showed up from nowhere!" Sonic stated calmly. "I'm sure that he has made it this time too. He is the "Ultimate Life Form" as he always loves to remember us. He doesn't die so easily. And he can't be dead after knocking me out without warning as he did during the battle! I want my payback!"

"Your reasons make sense, apart from the latter. He is not a normal living being after all. If you are right, I just wonder what is keeping him from coming back" Tails mused, pensive. "It's already been more than a year and half."

"Twenty months". The blue blur shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he lost his memory again. Or he isn't in the mood to see us. You know how lunatic he is at times!" he offered. "But…Why do we have to talk about that dark piece of ice, by the way?"

"You are the one who keeps his Rings and waits for him to come back!"

"It's just because I'm getting bored and I need some news. _You_ were the one who started the discussion asking me about the Rings!"

Tails sighed. "I'm not the one who knows exactly how much time has passed since the last time we saw him…" he mumbled. "Listen, just drop this, OK? I agree, we don't have to talk about him. If he showed up we'll see what to do. Until he doesn't there's nothing we should worry about."

"That's what I wanted to hear!" the hero cheered up giving a nod of approval. "Now, what about a snack? All that cleaning made me hungry…"

The young genius couldn't help laughing. "Why I'm not surprised?" he commented. "Give me five minutes, I'll cook you something."

"Sure!". Sonic leaned back against the seatback, absently observing his friend getting busy with the food. His mind was still on their previous argument, even if he had said he didn't want to talk about it. Tails was right, maybe it had been a bit stupid conserving those Rings for such a long time. Even if Shadow was alive he had no reason to come back to them. He had never hung out with them, partially because they had always been on opposite sides until the final battles and mostly because the dark hedgehog simply never hung out. He was a loner, that wasn't a secret. At times he seemed to dislike any kind of company and if he stuck with them was only for sense of duty. He didn't have any bonds that could link him to them, even if the dark creature had heard his rival referring to him as a "friend" soon after knocking him out to prevent him from getting hurt during their last battle. Both his words and actions seemed to show that the black hedgehog cared about him and the others to some extent, but he didn't dare to speculate too much on it. Shadow was an obscure abyss for most part, and you never knew what his true reasons were.

The blue blur ran a hand in his quills, chasing away that thought. There was no point in wasting time wondering about his nemesis right now. It wasn't like he had to deal with him. He would just leave those considerations for the next time their paths would cross. He instead turned his attention to more urgent matters. He had just told his best friend that Eggman's lastest attacks had been lame, but he had the feeling that there was something going on. Every time their enemy had started to go "soft" on them he had later come out with some new sort of deadly weapon, giving him and his companions a really hard time. And he suspected that it was what was going to happen. But that time he wouldn't let the madman fool him. He gazed out of the window, losing his green eyes in the storm. Whatever the doctor was planning, he would be ready to smash it.

**§§§§§**

The rain kept falling hard, making it difficult to see what was going on all around. Three figures wrapped in brown raincoats were advancing on the muddy path, trying their best not to trip on the soaked ground. They couldn't have thought of a worst weather to go on a mission, especially such a delicate one. They had tried to convince their boss to wait until the storm was over, but there had been no way to make him change his mind. He was looking forward to put his hands on that information, it was quite clear, but that still didn't justify the fact that they had been sent out to face the harsh climate while he just stayed seated in his base.

"I wonder why it's always us who have to suffer the most uncomfortable conditions" the tallest complained. "I hate the rain! I can feel my limbs already getting rusty!"

"Don't tell that to me! I'm fed up with all this dirty work we are forced to do!" the one on his left snorted, obviously irritated. "If I get wetter I'll surely short-circuit! I'm glad that we are almost at the base!"

"I can't even fly with this storm!" the shorter cried out, pouting. "If I could it would take me much lesser time to get back!"

"Shut up, Bokkun! You have already caused enough troubles today!" the first one pointed out, glaring at him. "You and your explosion! We have almost got trapped because of you!"

"Well said, Decoe! I really didn't get why you had to come with us in the first place!" the second one agreed. "At times it seems that you do it on purpose!"

"But…But…It's not true!" Bokkun squealed grabbing Bocoe's arm and shaking it. "Why are you so mean with me?!"

"You are the one who messes with us!" Decoe talked back, while the gray robot freed himself from their companion's grip. "How can you ask us to act nice with you?!"

The smaller robot stamped his feet but he couldn't find a proper answer, so he kept quiet. He didn't get why nobody could appreciate his pranks. They were a lot of fun for him. His victims instead always got furious, especially the doctor, and forced him to flee as fast as possible. Their reactions scared him every time.

The three went on walking without speaking for the rest of the time, until they finally reached Eggman's headquarter. It was a huge construction, all made of metal and glass, build against the side of a slope. It was located deep in the forest, far away from every town or dwelling place, and it extended his foundations deep in the ground. They literally ran inside, eager to get out of the rain and sighed all together as soon as they found themselves in a dry place.

"Finally!" Bocoe exclaimed, quickly taking off his soaked coat and dumping it on the floor. "Let's go and see the doctor. Then we can dry off!"

The other two nodded and got rid of their clothes as well, before following him along the corridor. The control room was in the middle of the building and it took the three several minutes to reach it. Once there they entered without knocking and found their creator in a heated discussion with a certain bat they knew too well. Or, rather, the mad scientist was quite worked up, mostly because the thief had actually found a way to elude his security system once again, while Rouge was just standing in front of him, apparently untouched by his harsh words.

"We are back!" Decoe announced loudly. "Mission accomplished!"

"Mission, uh? What are you plotting this time?" the bat asked, curiously eyeing the CD that the yellow robot was carrying. "Some new weapon for world domination?"

"None of your business, bat" Eggman rudely answered. Then he turned to his creations. "Here you are! I was starting to think that you had got lost! Why did it take you so much? You just had to get it from my old headquarter! Nothing so difficult!"

"Have you looked out of the window?" Bocoe asked, clearly irritated. "There is a huge _storm_! We are not comfortable in the rain!"

"And the place was completely destroyed! It wasn't easy to find the data!" Decoe added with the same tone of voice. "And moreover Bokkun decided that he had to give us one of his explosive surprises while we were still inside the ruins!"

Bokkun groaned at those words and puffed out, but he carefully kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was to be punished for his bad timing.

The doctor grabbed the CD. "I wouldn't care even if you had run into that annoying hedgehog" he said. "The only thing that matters is that now I have the program. I can complete my new creation now!". He let out a belly laugh, gaining a perplexed glance from all the presents.

"Don't tell me it's another robot! I've seen enough of those!" Rouge exclaimed. "Why don't you try to get more creative? We are all tired of those metal toys of yours!"

"Don't insult my genius, you thief!" he warned. His glasses shone in a dangerous way. "This robot will be my ultimate weapon! I'll destroy that cocky creature once and for all! Then I will start my empire and rule the universe!"

"Tsk, I don't even waste time to contradict you. After all everybody knows that you are going to lose. Sonic will kick your butt again" she stated, crossing her arms. "There's no "ultimate weapon" and there will never be. Well, apart from a certain common acquaintance of ours. But he is gone, isn't he?". She stared right at the man's face, challenging him. She has been fully aware since the beginning that he knew something about that issue, but she had never succeeded in making him spit the truth out. "What a pity."

"You are wrong, my dear. Just stay and see, Rouge, I'll be the one winning this time" the doctor smirked, ignoring her allusions and showing himself to be more than confident about his plan. He approached the main computer and inserted the CD, starting to key some buttons. "My robot is indestructible. Nothing can damage it! Apart from something that my enemies don't possess…"

A puzzled looked appeared on the bat's face. She was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole affair. "And what would that something be?" she questioned suspiciously.

"I shouldn't be telling you this considering how much fond of that echidna you have grown, but, even if you tell him, there will be nothing he could do about it" the man answered. "You see, Rouge, the only power that could destroy my creation is chaos energy. I've worked hard for almost a year to find the right alloy, but in the end I made it! Now, since the Master Emerald is still in pieces and the chaos emeralds are scattered in the universe, there's no way that Sonic and his little friends can fight me!"

"Well, for once I have to confess that I'm really impressed, doctor". She cracked a smile, hiding her growing worry. She hadn't liked the news. Even if she still kept on her own side, following her own goals, she had grew attached to the blue hedgehog's gang, especially to Knuckles who she bothered on daily basis. So she couldn't help feeling concerned for their safety. If what Eggman was saying was the truth, they would have been in great troubles. She needed to warn them, even only to tell them to be very careful. She approached the mad scientist, her expert eyes fixed on the computer screen. Maybe she could do something to prevent the man from carrying out his plan before it was too late. If she found a way to stop the robot before it was completed or to damage it in some way she would make her friends' task much easier. "And tell me, when will this robot be ready? I mean, if it's really as great as you claim, I don't want to miss the battle for any reason! It caught my interest."

"Don't worry, my dear, I'm not going to make a lady wait too much. It would be rude" the doctor laughed, his voice dripping sarcasm. He pushed another button. "You see, I've just finished uploading in my creation's memory all the data regarding my opponents. It is already ready to go and destroy them! It only misses a fundamental detail!"

Rouge fought hard to keep a blank expression, shocked by the news. Could it be that it was already too late for doing anything? "What…What detail?" she managed to inquire.

"A proper name, of course! This is the best fruit of my brilliant intellect! I must find something appropriated!" he boasted triumphantly, before bringing a hand under his chin and assuming a pensive expression. "How could I call it?"

The bat saw her best chance to flee and give the news to her companions. "Well, let me know when you are done, doctor. I'd better get going, I still have some things to do. You know, I owe a club now and it keeps me really busy! See ya soon, honeys!". And without waiting for an answer she ran out of the room as fast as she could.

"Don't you think we should stop her, doctor?" Decoe asked blinking. "She is surely going to give the news to Sonic and Co.!"

"Ah, let her do what she wants. It's too late for them!" the man mumbled. "Besides, there are more important businesses I need to take care of!"

"Yeah, finding a name for that stupid piece of metal" Bocoe mumbled rolling his eyes.

"I heard that!" Eggman exploded, pointing the door. "_You_ are the stupid piece of metal! You _useless_ robots! Now, get out of my way, you are disturbing my brainstorming!" The three immediately fled, not wanting to suffer his fury. He snorted crossing his arms. He wondered why he still kept those three with him. They did nothing but causing troubles and complaining to him. They were useful when it came to the low tasks, but he could have easily built more efficient and especially less talkative robots to replace them. Yet, he couldn't really bring himself to do it. They were the only ones among his creations who had survived during all those years of fighting and he would have lied if he had said that he didn't care at all about them. But, of course, those thoughts would never leave his mouth. He shook his head. "Those idiots would never understand the greatness of my creation! It will destroy that hedgehog fore…". He stopped midsentence, hit by an idea. "Oh, here is the perfect name!". He approached the controls once again. "Everything is ready! Now rise and do your job, _Destroyer-S_!"

**§§§§§**

Rouge flew quickly above the forest, heading towards the town were Sonic and friends lived. The storm seemed to have finally ended, and she was grateful for it. The rain would have made her task impossible. She needed to warn the blue blur about what was coming and she had to be fast. It wouldn't take too much time to Eggman to find a stupid name for his weapon. Her muscles were complaining for the sudden efforts, but she ignored them. She was almost there, she could already see the roofs.

Two minutes later she landed in front Tails's place. She didn't bother knocking and she burst into the house, finding the two friends on the floor of the living room, busy with some kind of game. They gave her a questioning glance, but she started to talk before one of them could open his mouth and ask what she was doing there.

"Eggman has a new robot and he will be activate it soon! It's a matter of minutes and…" she started, out of breath, but she couldn't end the sentence because an explosion made the ground shake. They all looked out of the window to see the smoke rising from the forest.

"I guess this new robot is already here!" Sonic exclaimed happily, hopping on his feet. "Good, finally some healthy action!"

"Sonic, don't…" the bat tried, but the blue hedgehog was out of her sight before she could warn him. "Ah! That idiot! He doesn't know in which kind of troubles he is getting himself into!" she growled, pissed off for being ignored. "If that robot kicks his ass I will laugh!"

"What are you talking about, Rouge?" Tails questioned seeing her reaction. "What's so special about this robot? You seemed worried when you arrived here!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you are more reasonable than that idiot!" she mumbled, before turning serious. "Listen, Tails, Eggman told me that he has created a new alloy to build that robot, an indestructible one that can be damaged only by chaos energy. So no matter how many times Sonic will hit that thing, he can't destroy it!"

The fox's eyes grew wide with worried. "That's bad, really bad. We need to do something. That thing must have a weak point!" he said, biting his lip. "We need to find it! But before that we need to warn Sonic of the danger!"

"That's what I was trying to do! But he is so careless at times!"

"Don't get pissed, Rouge. He is liked that. Let's follow him now, we don't have time to waste!"

She nodded, still a bit annoyed, but followed him out of the house and they took off, heading towards the smoke curtain. Rouge allowed herself a smile, seeing that the little genius was almost able to fly at her speed.

"You have got faster" she commented, playfully. Then she sped up. "But you still need to work hard to compete with me!"

"I have no doubt, Rouge!" he answered, with a brief chuckle. "Listen, since you are faster than me, there's something else you could do to help us. Go get Knuckles! We will surely need his help, Sonic can't fight alone this time!"

"With pleasure" she answered smirking and suddenly bending to right.

Tails went straight on and arrived on the battlefield just in time to see Sonic and Eggman yelling at each other. He immediately understood that something wasn't right. The new robot, a giant anthropomorphic machine, wasn't aiming specifically for his best friend, but seemed more interested in destroying everything around it.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" the blue hedgehog was shouting, incredulous. "Talk a language that I can understand, Egghead!"

"Ah, you are such an ignorant being! I can't believe I'm not able to get rid of you!" the man cursed. "What I am trying to say is that there was a problem with the artificial intelligence of Destroyer-S and now he doesn't answer my commands anymore!"

"So you did a mess, the thing went crazy and now you have no control on it?"

"If you want to put it that way…Yes."

Sonic dogged a laser beam. "Oh, wow! You are the worst, man!"

"Sonic! Be careful, that thing can be damaged only by chaos energy!" Tails shout, approaching them. "And since now not even Eggman can stop it we really are in big troubles…"

The hero stared at his younger companion, completely astonished. Then he turned to face Eggman again. He couldn't believe it. "I hope one of you can find a way out while I'm distracting that thing because if you don't we are all damned!". And with that he jumped on the robot, cursing. "That poor apology for a doctor owes me a lot this time!"


	3. Always the same old story

Hi, folks!

Here is the third chapter! Sorry if I kept you waiting, I hope you didn't mind too much! I think I should be able to update once a week if I don't have any sudden accident!

Back to the story, the robot's incident is quickly solved, but now Sonic & Co. know that Shadow is back (and Sonic is after him already xD)...How do you think the reunion will be this time? Once again a fight or a more pacific one?

Thanks a lot to everyone for reading! A special thanks to canikostar99 for her review! I really appreciate your interest! I hope you'll like this one too! Please, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

**Warnings:** the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, **don't read**, _please! _Rating is for future reference to violence!

**Disclaimer:** I **do not** own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – ****_Always the same old story_**

Abel looked around, amazed by what he was seeing. The planet was covered by forests for most of its surface and the nature was lively and luxuriant. He had grown up among buildings made of glass and metal, where plants were really rare. Since when he was a child he had always preferred messing up in his little lab to going outside to play and he had never really left the research station after he had been hired at the young age of fifteen years old. Even the few times he had travelled outside the city to go to a meeting or a conference he had never turned his attention to the landscape. His mind was locked among the walls of his beloved laboratory, not interested in anything but theories and experiments. He knew a lot about the theory of life and its forms, but he had never experienced them physically. That trip around the space had changed everything. They had left the station two months before and had already visited some of the planets in the list. Each of them had fascinated him with its appearance and the culture of its people. He had realised how much he had missed in those years only filled with numbers and data and he was now more than determined to make up for the lost time.

Shadow observed the young scientist dancing around the field where they had landed with their ship. He had got used to that kind of behaviour. Every time they reached a new planet it was always the same show. Besides, he had more important thoughts going on in his mind at the moment. They had finally arrived to Mobius and he still didn't know what he wanted to do about his former allies.

"Look at him, he is totally _euphoric_!" Molly chuckled, coming to stand by his side. "He is such a child! I can't believe he is more than ten years older than me!"

"Scientists are all crazy to some degree. My creator was insane in his own way as well, even before Maria's death" he stated in a blank tone. "Besides, Abel is pretty naive for his age. But I can't blame him. He has spent his life in the safety of his lab, he didn't saw the horror you and I were forced to face."

"And it's better this way. I feel like I can forget all the Metarex had done to me when I'm with him. I can even forget my companions' betrayal" she said quietly. "It's like I can be the young careless girl I should be."

The black hedgehog glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to their companion once again. "You didn't deserve what you have suffered. But I'm positive you'll be able to rebuild your life completely soon. And Abel will be a great help."

She turned towards him, surprised by his sudden kind words, but then smiled fondly. Her dark friend had harsh manners, sometimes even rude, but she knew that he cared about them. He just wasn't used to show affection. "We'd better go and stop him before he gets lost again" she sighed after a moment of silence. "It has already happened after all."

"How could I forget that? I spent four hours in the rain looking for him". The black creature rolled his eyes in annoyance at the memory. They had landed on a totally arid planet, covered for the most by deserts. The doctor had become fascinated with some kind of strange animal they had met and had run behind it. They were distracted, discussing a technical problem of their spaceship, and when they had turned to ask his opinion he wasn't there. Moreover, the planet was famous for its torrential spring rains and they had arrived exactly during that season. Shadow had run off to find the man and he was still looking for him when the storm had started. In the end he had found the young doctor asleep in a cave. There was no need to say that he was as pissed off as soaked and after that he had refused to speak to his friend for some days.

The orange-haired girl chuckled again at his annoyed expression and ran towards Abel, grabbing him by the arm. "Hey! Try not to disappear again!" she whispered, shooting a meaningful glance to the approaching hedgehog. "You don't want to make Shadow angry, do you?"

The other shivered, remembering how intimidating the dark creature had been when he had taken him back to the ship. Shadow was distant by nature, and he had got used to his cold ways, but that time his red eyes had totally frightened him. He had even read a murderous intent in them. "You are right. But don't worry, I won't do that ever again if he is present!" he said with force, but also half-joking. "Never get Shadow the Hedgehog pissed off! Your life could suffer for your mistake!"

"I heard that" the black hedgehog warned joining them. "Anyway, we should explore the surroundings instead of wasting time."

"Ah, yeah, I'd forgotten that you have actually never been here!" the young scientist exclaimed, extracting a little device from his pocket. He pressed a button and a hologram representing the planet appeared. "We are here". He pointed a little flashing light on the map. "The nearest town is about at ten kilometres from this field. We could go head there."

"And once we get there we could ask for more information, also about Shadow's companions, if he agrees" Molly nodded, looking at the creature. "What do you say?"

"Whatever. Let's reach the town. Once arrived I'll tell you what I want to do" the answer was. "We are here firstly to work, don't forget it."

The girl opened her mouth to retort but she was prevent from speaking by a big explosion, soon follow by another one, that almost sent the two humans on the ground. "What's going on?!" she yelled, instinctively grabbing the young scientist's arm to keep her balance.

"The Doctor…He is up to it once again" Shadow mumbled with a small smirk.

"Come again, Shadow?" Abel questioned him, looking around nervously. Then something caught his attention. The body of a giant robot was rising over the trees, shooting laser beams all around. "What the hell is that?!" he shouted both scared and amazed, causing his friends to look at the thing in turn.

Molly let out a surprised sound, while Shadow glanced at the two. He had no intention of letting them get involved in one of the madman's crazy plans. And there was only a way to do it: destroying whatever machine he had built that time to try to conquer the world. "You two stay here and wait, I'll take care of it" he commanded calmly. His opponent didn't seem so strong in spite of his dimensions. A chaos blast and it would be just a memory. For a moment he remembered about Abel's warning not to use his powers, but he chased the thought away, gripping at the little silvery pendant that hung around his neck. The energy still stored in it should have been more enough. "Grab what you need from the ship and prepare yourself for the journey. I'll be back in few minutes". And without adding anything else he disappeared in a black blur, leaving the other two astonished.

**§§§§§**

Sonic jumped away, panting lightly, going to stand at Knuckles's side. That thing was really strong, he couldn't deny it. For that reason he had been glad when Rouge and the echidna had joined the battle. They had given him the time to catch his breath. He shot a quick glance at Tails and Eggman that were discussing in front of what he imagined being the robot's project. It had taken all his best friend's patience to convince their enemy to show him those schemes. Now he only hoped that the two could find a way to stop the machine.

He mentally cursed his eternal opponent's crazy plans once again. Even when he made a mistake and messed his own things up, he was able to cause troubles, maybe even more than when his projects actually worked. And, of course, it was his duty to stop him and fix the consequences of his evil actions. He usually didn't mind it too much, but at times it just was too much. Until he was the only one getting involved he could tolerate the scientist's games, but it pissed him off when his friends got injured because of them. That was something he couldn't accept.

"Sonic, watch out!" the bat warned, bringing his attention back to their current opponent, just in time to see a laser beam heading straight towards him. But before he could do anything, he found himself on the ground with the echidna on the top of him.

"Will you just at least stay focused, you cocky idiot?" the latter attacked him, quickly getting up. He didn't understand how the blue blur could get distracted in the middle of a battle. "It would be annoying if you got shot only because you were _spacing out_!"

"Sorry about that, Knux!" he chuckled grabbing the hand that was offered to him and ignoring the look of disapproval on his friend's face. "And thanks for saving me!"

"Whatever". Knuckles glanced at the robot, pensive. "That metal monster is really a great bore! I punched him with all my strength but I didn't even leave a scratch on him!"

"Are you deaf, echidna? I told you before! And more than once!" Rouge exclaimed, landing behind them. "Only chaos energy can harm it! There's nothing we can do without it. We are powerless against it at the moment!"

"What do you suggest? That we pray for a miracle? Don't make me laugh, bat girl!" the red creature snapped. "We need to find a solution! We can't just stand and watch it _destroy_ the planet! This time I will really kick the doctor's ass once we are done, and hard!"

"Don't lose your temper, Knuckles" the hedgehog tried to calm him down. He understood too well his frustration, but getting all worked up wouldn't help them to get out alive. "I'm sure that Tails will come up with something. We just need to hold on!"

"I hope that he hurry up then!" the other growled before launching himself against their opponent once again. "I'm tired of that moving piece of metal!"

"He is always too impulsive" the bat commented shaking her head. "It will bring him a lot of troubles one day or the other."

"Don't worry, old Knux can take care of himself!" Sonic grinned, watching the echidna repeatedly hitting their opponent hard body and almost sending it on the ground. "His stubbornness is a quality, not a flaw!"

"If you say so…" she muttered, waving her hand. She wanted to sound sceptical, but her eyes said otherwise. "Let's lend him a hand with that robot!"

"Sure! There's no way I let him enjoy all the fun!" he exclaimed, exchanging glances with the thief before jumping on their enemy's again.

Shadow observed the battle from the top of a cliff not so far away. He had immediately noticed that all the attacks of his former allies were useless against the doctor's creation. And it wasn't that hard to understand that the machine was totally out of control. He could see Eggman's form standing aside with the fox boy, probably trying to find a flaw in his own project. He snorted, not knowing if he should feel amused or pissed off by the scene. It could pass a century, but some things would never change. If it was good or bad, it was hard to say.

He studied his former companions' movements. They were exactly as he remembered them, still as active and powerful as they had shown themselves to be in the other dimension first and during the war against the Metarex later. They had even got slight better in that year and half. His red eyes focused in particular on the blue hedgehog. He had to admit that the thought of fighting against him again was tempting. After all Sonic was one of the few who could stand his ground in a fair fight. Not to mention the fact that he was the only one whom Shadow had ever allowed to team up with him during a battle. They had saved two universes together, and even he couldn't ignore that. He had come to think of the blue one as a rival more than a real enemy. They had fought each other many times, and he had even tried to kill his counterpart, but he had done that only because the other was standing in his way and refused to move aside. He didn't wish for him to die, unless it was strictly necessary. He would never admit it, but a good fight with the blue hero had sometimes made his day in the past.

He shook his head, coming back to reality. He couldn't waste his time with those stupid thoughts, there was something that required his assistance. "I've seen enough" he muttered under his breath and stretched his arms in front of himself, hands opened. "Chaos…blast!"

His pendant vibrated and lit up, and a ray of golden power left his palms, going straight towards the robot. The black hedgehog stumbled backwards, caught off guard by the recoil and by the sudden loss of energy. He regained his balance just in time to see his attack hitting the machine and making it explode in a million of pieces. That wasn't exactly what he was planning to do. He just wanted to make a hole in it and leave the rest to Sonic and his gang. His mind raced, quickly analysing what had just happened. Now he really understood what Abel had meant when he had warned him about his inability to control his chaos powers without the Rings. He wasn't able to decide the amount of energy he used and the intensity of the attacks. He had been lucky that his pendant didn't have the same energy of an emerald or he would have risked blowing up everything and everyone in the area.

He clenched his fists in mild anger and turned away from the scene. He was done there, he needed to get back to his companions. He didn't want to be noticed and, moreover, he was sure that his friends had gotten anxious about him after seeing the damage he had caused. He could almost hear the young scientist rambling about the fact he had told him that something similar was going to happen. And he hated the fact that he would have been damn right.

**§§§§§**

"What the heck has just happened?!" Knuckles cursed, emerging from under a pile of metal and dust. "The damn thing exploded out of the blue!"

"Well, it did us a big favour" Rouge commented, landing totally unharmed on his left. Then she turned towards where Eggman and Tails stood. "Are you two big brains OK?"

"Yeah…I guess" the fox stuttered, covered head to tail with dirt, his eyes wide with surprise. It was clear that he wasn't expecting the sudden explosion at all. "Somebody cares to tell me how did you do it?"

"They didn't do anything, fox boy!" the madman interjected, still too astonished to add some smart remark about the whole situation. "My poor creature just blew up by itself! Maybe there was something wrong in its circuits after all…"

"Don't get too depressed, Eggster! I don't think you made some error in your calculation" Sonic chuckled crossing his fingers behind his head, a pleased glimpse shining in his green eyes. "Somebody destroy your creation…And I bet I know who he was!". He turned towards Tails and winked at him as if he was saying: "I told ya!"

"Wait, Sonic! You can't be talking about…?" Knuckles exclaimed incredulous. "I can't believe that guy is back _again_! After being left with no energy and being caught in the middle of the hugest explosion I've ever seen!"

Rouge giggled, gaining a nasty look from the red creature. "Oh, I knew he wasn't gone for real! That would have been too predictable!"

"Yeah, it could be…But I don't get why he destroyed my poor robot!" the doctor complained. "He never gets involved in situations that don't concern him!"

"Well, your "poor robot" was going to blow up the planet! This had to concern him since he is here as well!" the fox pointed out. "I can't believe it…It's always the same scene! He comes out from nowhere every time we are unable to face the situation! Like the first time we met him while fighting the Metarex!"

"Tails is right! Anyway…" the blue hedgehog crossed his arms. "The battle is over, everybody should go home and rest. And, Egghead, next time try to take a hold of your toys if you don't want to reign on nothing! That was awfully close! If Shadow hadn't arrived to help us, we would have had a huge problem!"

"Don't use that arrogant tone with me, hedgehog! Next time I'll destroy you!" the mad scientist shouted at him while soaring with his little usual mean of transport. "The war is not over!"

"Yeah, in your dreams!" he yelled back, watching his eternal enemy disappear. Then he turned towards his friends. "That was fun, I have to admit that! But maybe it was a bit too dangerous for a game, don't you think?"

"That wasn't a game in the first place!" the echidna exclaimed. "We could have gotten killed if it hadn't been for…for…"

"Shadow?" Rouge offered with an amused smirk.

"Ah, whatever! I can't believe that I owe my life to that killjoy once again!". Knuckles crossed his arms and started to walk away. "I'm going back to the Master Emerald! I don't want to risk bumping into any other _revived_ hedgehog for today!"

"Oh, _Knux_, what's wrong? You don't like Shadow?" the bat teased flying after him. "Are you envious because he is much stronger than you?"

"Shut up, bat girl! Don't make such silly assumptions! I could battle that black hedgehog any time and teach him a lesson!"

"Oh, really? Why don't you show me then? Let's go after him!"

"Ugh…Now? I…I don't have time for something so stupid right now! The Master Emerald is still in pieces, I need to watch on it!"

"I could do it for you while you fight, honey!"

"Don't you dare to go near it, you thief!"

"Oh, Knuckles! You are no fun!"

Tails and Sonic watched the scene doing their best not to laugh at their red friend's short temper. Those two argued like a married couple at times. The fox shot a glance to his best friend who was now tapping his fingers on his crossed arms, immediately figuring out where his mind was.

"You should hurry up if you want to catch him" he stated with a small smile that widen when he saw the hedgehog's taken aback expression. "Come on, you know what I'm talking about. Shadow is practically as fast as you are. Who knows when you will see him next time!"

"You caught me, pal!" Sonic admitted scratching his ear. "You don't mind going home alone, do you? I'll be back for dinner!"

"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine" Tails nodded pointing the forest. "Now go! Good luck!"

"Thanks! I'll see you later, buddy!" the blue blur exclaimed before speeding on and disappearing among the trees, heading towards where the attack had come from.

The young genius stood where he was for a while, musing about what had happened that day. Firstly, he had found out that his best friend was keeping their lost ally's Rings, then Eggman's unexpected attack, and finally the quickly but meaningful appearance of Shadow himself. A day full of events.

He sighed and started to walk back to his workshop, wondering if he would really have to cook dinner also for his older companion. Knowing Sonic, he was sure that he wasn't going to come home until he had found his black rival. Should he prepare something also for the other hedgehog? Shadow would never accept an invitation for dinner, especially from Sonic's part, but once again he couldn't be sure of what would happen. The most logical thing to do was waiting until somebody, whoever he or they would be, came and knocked to his door. Then he would act depending on the situation. They had plenty of food, so dinner wasn't a problem.

He chuckled a bit, imagining his blue companion speeding among the trees. He seemed so excited about having the chance to challenge Shadow again, therefore Tails wouldn't have been surprised if he had crashed into a trunk because of his hurry. He knew that he should have been a little worried about the result of the encounter-clash, but he couldn't bring himself to be. The way in which the dark hedgehog had literally broken into pieces Eggman's creation could lead to think that he was in a quite bad mood, but after all this was Shadow and he was never in good spirits. Besides, he was sure that Sonic could keep him at a bay and that the Ultimate Life Form had no intention of hurting his rival too badly, no matter how many threats he threw at him. There was something that he had learnt while fighting at the black creature's side, and it was that he never caused harm without a good reason.

A particular episode that had happened during the war against the Metarex came into his mind. The fox shivered at the memory on how persistently their former ally had chased down him and Cosmo with the purpose of killing her for being an unaware spy of their enemies. Well, maybe Shadow's definition of "good reasons to kill" was different from his.

He shook his head slightly. He didn't want to think about those moments. The dark hedgehog was dangerous, everybody knew it, but it didn't mean he was evil…right? Of course not. Still…He sighed again, now cursing Sonic for his carelessness. Maybe he really needed to be concerned about his friend's health. He should have at least taken some kind of precaution before running away towards the unknown. But now it was a bit too late. The blue blur lost his already small common sense every time he saw a challenge and simply rushed towards it without considering the possible consequences. The thought made Tails smile a bit. The strong self-confidence and the bravery were two of the qualities he appreciated the most in his older companion, maybe because they were the ones he once lacked almost completely. Since they had met, he had become more mature and independent, more sure of himself, but he still didn't possess the confidence which he wished for. But he was still young and, besides, knowing that Sonic thought highly of him and of his potential reassured him a lot.

The fox found himself standing in front of the door of his house and blinked. He hadn't realised that he had already arrived home. He was completely lost in his thought. He shrugged and went inside. It was time to get back to work. Focusing on his projects was the perfect way to kept him distracted until Sonic got home.

**§§§§§**

"_What_?! Your attack was "a little too powerful" than you were expecting?!" Abel exclaimed still shocked by the huge burst that had taken place in front of his eyes. "You burned down the whole thing! And it was not _small_! What were you thinking w…?"

"Doctor, don't. I don't want to hear your "I warned you, Shadow" speech" the black hedgehog interrupted, almost twitching his eye in annoyance. He hardly showed his emotions, but he had learnt to be less closed up when he was around his two companions, especially Molly, letting them at least know when he was pissed off or if he was in a quite good mood. "The chaos blast was the quicker way to get rid of that machine. It was completely out of control. I _had_ to do something."

"Yeah, but you risked to blow up us all as well!" the young man protested again. "I fully trust you and your abilities, you know it, but this isn't something you can control and somehow fix! It's some kind of flaw in your atomic structure and…"

"_Flaw_? What do you mean _flaw_?". Shadow immediately stopped his steps at the word, feeling insulted. He crossed his arms, standing stiff on the ground of the dirt road they had taken to reach the nearest town. Despite his calm appearances, his voice was lower and darker than usual. "I'm the Ultimate Life Form. There are no _flaws_ in my structure. And I will show you. I'll find a way to use chaos energy without losing control and without those Rings!"

The scientist put a hand in front of his mouth, mentally cursing for his awful choice of words, taking a step back. Molly shot her friends a worried look and decided to intervene before the situation could get worse. She was sure that nothing bad would happen, but she would have lied if she had said that the hedgehog wasn't scaring her.

"Come on, guys, don't fight! It's so stupid!" she said calmly, stepping between the two. She firstly spoke to the man. "Abel, Shadow can take care of himself. He had consciously taken the risk and he had done it to protect us. He would never put our lives in danger, not even by mistake". Then she turned towards the dark creature. "But, Shadow, you can't deny that you have been a bit too careless. Don't get mad, Abel is only concerned about your well-being, as I am. And you know he is not good with words when science isn't concerned. I'm sure that you'll be able to use chaos energy without the Rings one day. But, until then, you should be more careful when you don't wear them, OK?". She crossed her arms. "So, are we done? Can we go back being the team we are and go to that town?"

The two males nodded, Abel a bit shaken and Shadow still reluctant. But the girl's speech had persuaded them both that what had happened wasn't worth a fight. They would have regretted it later. Luckily for them Molly had once again shown her natural leadership skills and had brought them back to reason.

"You are right, Molly. I'm sorry for my outburst, Shadow. I shouldn't have said those things" the young man said with a nervous smile. "Forgive me."

"You were only stating the truth" the creature conceded, fixing his red eyes into the other's grey ones. "You did nothing so wrong, doc". The nickname, that he only used when he was in his best mood, released all the tension that had filled the air until that moment. "Let's go."

Molly smiled cheerfully, starting to walk next to him, and the doctor hurried up to follow them, going to stand by their black companion's other side. They were more than glad to see that the creature had dropped his nasty ways and had gone back to his usual behaviour. Dealing with him was still hard at times, but they had concluded long before that Shadow's friendship was worth the trouble.


	4. Never solved matters

Hello, guys!

I'm back after a week as I promised last time! I've been quick :D

Well, in this chapter we have some flashbacks (be prepared, there are going to be a lot!) about Shadow, Molly and Abel. And of course Sonic and Shadow finally meet again! A strange kind of reunion for them, but things are different from the past...Will it be the beginning of a new kind of relationship? Who knows!

Thanks a lot to everyone for reading and favouriting! A special thanks to **BlazePyro** who has reviewed last chapter and has been really nice to me!

Please, read and review! All comments are more than appreciated!

Enjoy!

**Warnings:** the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, **don't read**, _please! _Rating is for future reference to violence!

**Disclaimer:** I **do not** own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – _Never solved matters_**

_Eighteen months before, research station…_

The room was completely white, apart from two details: the medical equipment and the figure connected to it. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, the bed, the sheets, everything else were snow white. It almost troubled the eyes of the visitors. Not that there were some, apart from the doctor who was taking care of the unconscious patient and the young girl who came in and out for most part of the day. She had been the one who had found the creature fluctuating in the space, together with many rocks and other remains of goodness-knew-what. Try to imagine her huge surprise when she had realised that she knew well that black and red broken figure.

As Molly entered the white room, her eyes filled with sadness. Abel, the doctor who took care of the case, had said that he still didn't know if and when Shadow would emerge from his coma. It could take days or it could take years. He really couldn't get to understand the strange structure of the hedgehog's body. It was totally different from everything he had seen before. The only thing that he could do was monitoring his conditions day and night.

She sighed, sitting down on a chair next to the bed. After having left Cascade as a result of her people's betrayal, she had travelled around the galaxy, trying her best not to get caught by the Metarex, without a real destination. Then, one day, after three weeks of pointless wandering, she had been caught in the middle of an asteroid storm and her ship had crashed on that planet, near the city where the research station was located. Some of the inhabitants had found her by chance during a walk in the forest and had immediately brought her to the hospital, where she had spent about a week recovering. While there she had got to know that the planet was still free from the Metarex's invasion and had had her first encounter with the advanced technology that its people had been able to develop. At first this had led her to believe that she could convince them to use it against her enemies, but soon she had discovered that the planet had always lived in peace and, apart from some laser guns used by the local police, its people knew nothing about weapons. So she had had to give up and she had decided that maybe it was better that way. She was glad that a world untouched by war still existed.

Her meeting with Abel had also been almost fortuitous. At the time the doctor had just finished one of his projects and, as soon as he had heard about a girl fallen from the space, he had run to the hospital to see her. The two had quickly become close friends and the young man had taken Molly with him at the station once she had been discharged. Her bond with the scientist had been the reason that had stopped her from going back to her wandering. He had offered her the chance to have a new life and a new place to call "home", and he had in the end persuaded her to stay, even if not without effort. He wasn't a popular person, as the girl had discovered quickly, because of his great brilliance, which made him seemed a bit too crazy, and his weird manners. She had been the first person to genuinely like him after a long time. He felt the need to protect her and to hand her a new chance to be happy after all she had gone through. The unexpected but more than welcomed news of the Metarex's defeat had been the final push for Molly, who had agreed to live there with her new companion. Thanks to her skills, she had quickly also got a job at the station as a pilot responsible for the trials of the new space vehicles.

Her life had become peaceful, but not devoid of challanges, again. Then, two months before, she had found Shadow during one of the tests. It hadn't taken her too much effort to convince Abel to treat him, exploiting the scientist's natural curiosity and the strong affection that he had for her. And now there she was, praying for his dark saviour to wake up.

"Because you will wake up, Shadow. I'm sure you will" she whispered softly, briefly touching the gloved hand set upon the sheets.

There was a light knock on the opened door. "Molly?" Abel called quietly.

She turned to face him. "Yes?"

"It's almost lunch time. I was wondering if you wanted to come and eat something with me" the young man said with a light smile. "You have been up all night and you skipped breakfast. You need to eat something or you'll get weak."

"I'm not hungry actually" she answered, tormenting her hands. "And I'm not sleepy either. It's alright, I'm fine, really!"

"I don't think so". He approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Molly, I know you are worried for Shadow, but starving yourself won't help. I'm sure that if he was awake he would tell you to go to your lodgings and rest."

She gave a weak grin. "I know but I can't help it…". Her gaze went back to the sleeping figure. She was just asking for one last, small miracle. She had lost everything, but she had also been given a new chance. If the universe had offered her, who had done nothing special for it, such a big opportunity, it would have been extremely unfair if fate had let its saviour die or spend his whole existence in a coma. Shadow deserved to live.

In that very moment, one of the creature's eyes twitched. She blinked, shocked, and looked at Abel to see if she had just imagined it. But from the surprised expression on his face she immediately understood that it had happened for real. Under their gazed the dark creature started to stir, moving all his limbs as if he was checking that they were still there, and then lift his eyelids. Crimson globes focused on the two, still clouded by the long sleep.

"Shadow! You are awake!" Molly screamed, jumping on her feet, pure joy invading her chest. Her prayers had been heard.

The hedgehog blinked a few time, trying to clear his eyes, and slowly got in a seated position. 'Shadow?' he thought confused. 'Is that…my name?'. He observed the living beings that were standing in front of him, trying to recollect some information about who they were and where he was. But his memory was completely empty. 'Maria…'. The name crossed his mind. 'Could it be the name of this girl?' he wondered, focusing on the orange-haired figure. 'No, it's not her…But then…'. He blinked again and finally spoke, leaving the other two completely astonished: "Who the hell are you?". His hands clung on his quills. "And, first of all, who am _I_?"

**§§§§§**

_Present time, Mobius…_

Sonic ran faster and faster among the trees, trying to feel Shadow's presence and to locate him. He could sense a light trace, but it was so small that he didn't really know where it came from. So he just let his instinct guide him. It had never failed him after all. He let out a small laugh. That fake hedgehog brought him troubles even when he wasn't involved in his business. He was glad that he had saved them from that robot, but he wished that the other had stayed at least for the time to say hello. But, after all, if he had done it, it wouldn't have been the Shadow they knew.

Suddenly the forest became sparse and it opened on a big field. He walked towards the middle, observing the surroundings. There were strange grooves in the grass, as if some kind of big vehicle had landed there. On his left a road that led to his hometown could be seen. He crossed his arms, thinking hard. Shadow had gone lost in the space, so he surely had come on Mobius with the help of some sort of spaceship. But why using such a big one? Maybe he wasn't alone? He raised an eyebrow at the thought. That sounded strange. The black hedgehog didn't love company, so why joining somebody else? He was sure that finding a ship just for himself wouldn't have been a problem for him. If there was someone with him it was because Shadow had allowed them to come. But the question was still why he would have done such a thing.

Sonic shrugged. Shadow's ways of thinking were and maybe would always be a mystery for him. There was only a way to discover the truth. Find the said dark creature and ask him. A small satisfied grin appeared on his face and he raced towards the town, following the dirt road. His target was near, he had no doubt.

**§§§§§**

_Fifteen months before, research station…_

Shadow cursed silently, rubbing his temples in the vain attempt to sooth his headache. Three months had passed since he had woken up from his coma, finding himself in a bed in the undergrounds of an alien research station. He had apparently survived the explosion and Molly, the girl from Cascade that reminded him of Maria, had saved him. At first he had no memory of his past and even of his identity, but the doctor who was taking care of him had helped him to remember, thanks to some kind of strange technology they had on that place. The problem was that every time a memory came back it brought with it a huge pain in his head that could last for hours. Nothing could be done to avoid the unpleasant side effect. He had to hold on and wait for it to go away.

The time at the ARK after his creation had been the first thing he had started to remember. The pleasant memories came back during the day together with the migraines, while the bad ones emerged in the form of frightening and cruelly realistic nightmares that had turned his nights into a hell for almost a month. Then he had recalled the war against the Metarex, which also meant finally getting who Molly was and remembering Sonic, Rouge, Eggman and the rest of the Mobians. The lasts had been the ones about his first awakening and the ARK accident. He still didn't remember everything, but his flashbacks were becoming rarer and rarer, meaning that the picture was almost complete. For the first time after Maria's death he could say he knew every details of his past. The awful migraines were a small price compared to that.

He got up from the small chair where he had been sitting and approached Abel, who was writing a report for his boss. In those three months he had been somehow promoted by the scientist from "patient" to "personal assistant". The thing wasn't official but still the young man's colleagues seemed to have acknowledged his new role at the station, even if everybody still referred to him as the "alien of the research station".

The doctor lifted his gaze from the computer screen. "How are you doing, Shadow?" he asked, noting the slight pained winced on the hedgehog's face.

"Fine, apart from this damn headache" the latter answered, rubbing his temples once again. "But I can deal with it."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenient. But this is the safer and faster way to get your memory back" Abel smiled apologetically at him. "But don't worry, it will be over soon. Do you want some medication to ease the pain?"

"No. I hate that kind of things. Growing up as a lab product made me sick and tired of meds and vitamins" he snorted, crossing his arms. "I prefer the pain."

"As you wish! If you change your mind just let me know and I'll get you something!" the man chuckled at his stubbornness. "Listen. I'm almost done with the report. Molly asked me if I want to go shopping with her when I 'm finished. Do you want to come with us? Some fresh air would be good for you."

"I don't have anything better to do, so I guess I can join you" he agreed. "Even if I don't like crowded place."

The other's face lit up. "Great! So, give me five more minutes and we can go!"

Shadow gave a brief nod and went back to his chair. He held back a snort. He was really getting soft, he found hard to say no whenever his two new companions asked him something. But there was nothing he could do about it. The research station reminded him of his life at the ARK. The similarity between Maria and Molly increased everyday from his point of view, even if the two girls had different personalities, and Abel somehow reminded him of Gerald Robotnik. For the first time after Maria's death he felt safe and almost at home.

**§§§§§**

_Present time, Mobius…_

Shadow stopped abruptly, turning to look at the road they had left behind. His two companions glanced at him, taken aback by that sudden change of attitude, and they didn't fail to notice that their dark friend's body had become tensed, as if he was ready for a battle.

"Is something wrong, Shadow?" Molly asked, a bit worried, following his gaze, but she couldn't see anything on the horizon. "Are we in danger?"

"It's nothing you have to worry about" he answered calmly, but his body language didn't change. "We have guests. An old acquaintance of mine, specifically."

"Yeah?". Abel could have sworn that he had seen a small smirk appearing on the creature's face, and that fact didn't reassure him at all. "Who is it?"

"You'll see when he reaches us" the cryptic answer was.

The three stood in silence, waiting for the mysterious "guest" to show himself. In the end something appeared before them, moving so fast that it left a trail of dust behind it. The thing came to an abrupt stop at about three meters from them, revealing to be a blue hedgehog who looked a lot like the dark one.

The two creatures stared in each other eyes for some moments, then the new comer grinned almost triumphantly and spoke: "Hey, Shadow! It's been a while, isn't it? How come that you haven't invite us to your welcome back party?". His tone was playful. "But I'm not so surprised. After all you are like that. Coming out from nowhere, sacrificing yourself to save the world, disappearing again. Oh, did I mention losing your memory? You never change."

"Nor do you, _Faker_" Shadow retorted coldly. "You are the same cocky idiot I left more than a year and half ago."

"Oh, you remember everything this time? I'm glad!" Sonic commented, a small hint of relief in his voice. "I was worried about having to explain everything to you again. Especially because you wouldn't have listened to me and would have just tried to _kill_ me again!"

"I remember everything since my creation now, including, unfortunately for me, _you_" the black hedgehog stated, with a trace of sarcasm. "Consider yourself lucky."

"Oh, I know that deep down in your icy cold heart you love me!" the other teased with a smirk. "But I'm glad to see that you haven't changed. Always the old, dark, surly Shadow!"

"Tsk. Good for you. Now, out of my way" he commanded. "I'm not here to play with you. So…"

"You must be Sonic!" Molly interrupted enthusiastically. "I was looking forward to meeting you! Shadow mentioned you almost as often as he talks about Maria!"

"Molly! Shut up!" Shadow growled, shooting her a nasty glare. The last thing he wanted was to let the girl embarrass him in front of his rival. "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Come on, Shadow! She was just trying to have a nice chat!" Abel interjected, trying to calm him down. He had understood from his dark friend's short tales that the two hedgehogs weren't in good terms with each other, especially from the Ultimate Life Form's part. "Don't get mad at her! Besides, she is telling the tru…"

"I'm warning you too, Abel". He stopped the man before he could conclude his speech. "No more _nonsense_. Have I made myself clear?"

"It's never a good sign when he uses my first name" the scientist whined, grabbing Molly's arm as a protection. "We made him angry again!"

"Easy, _Shads_! They are telling nothing new to me!" Sonic laughed, but internally frowned. Shadow was acting extremely harshly with his two companions, but from the way they had spoken to him he had got the feeling that he usually behaved differently with them. Besides, his rival had pronounced their names without a particular tone, as if he was used to it. And considering he was Shadow that meant a lot. "Anyway, I'm not here to waste your time, even if I wouldn't mind go for a race with you. I have something that belongs to you at home!"

"And what would that be?" the dark hedgehog questioned suspiciously. "And don't call me "Shads" ever again."

"Your Rings!" he answered cheerfully, crossing his arms and ignoring his curt tone. "I found them after the explosion, while I was looking for Cosmo. You always lose them at some point, don't you? I thought I should have taken care of them until your return."

"Shadow, that's great!" Abel exclaimed, regaining his natural enthusiasm. "We will solve our problems if you get them back!"

"It's true!" Molly agreed nodding in approval. "This way we all will be safer, Abel will stop scolding you and you could start that training to be finally able to get rid of them once and for all! It's perfect!"

The black creature put on a pensive expression, while the blue one raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding what the three were talking about. He wasn't sure of what they were referring to but he had grasped that those rings must have been much more important than he had thought.

"If you follow me I can give them back immediately" he offered. "I live in the same town where you seem to be going, so it doesn't even interfere with your schedule."

The last sentence was clearly directed to Shadow, who, feeling his friends' expecting eyes on him, just shrugged. "It's the most logical choice. We'll go with him. But only for the Rings". He turned and started to walk again without waiting for an answered.

Molly winked at the blue blur, who gave her and the scientist the thumbs up, and then they followed the black creature. Sonic eyed curiously the two who he presumed to be some sort of human beings. They had showed themselves to be quite sociable and cheerful, not exactly the kind of people you would expect as his rival's companions. He needed to investigate.

"So, you seem to know everything about me but I have never met you before!" he started. "I just grasp your names."

"Yeah, you are right! Sorry about that!" Abel answered, smiling a bit. "The whole story is quite long so let us give you the short version for now! I'm Abel and I'm a scientist from the nearest galaxy to this one. I was given the task to classify the inhabitants of some of the planets in this part of the universe and I decided to take Molly and Shadow with me. She is our pilot and takes care of the ship, while he…Well, let's say he is my assistant!"

"Assistant, uh?" the hero repeated, shooting a glance at Shadow who kept walking in front of them, pretending not to hear what they were saying. "So you guys came to study us and the other aliens around here! Sounds fun!"

"It is! Even if we had some accidents during the trip…But Shadow is also with us for that!" the orange-haired girl chuckled. "Anyway, I'm Molly. I met Shadow during the war against the Metarex. They destroyed my planet and my people. I'm the only survivor". Her voice filled with sadness at the memory but she immediately forced herself to smile again. "My ship crashed on Abel's planet more than two years ago and I decided to live there. I work as a pilot for the research station and I was the one who found Shadow after the battle a year and half ago."

"I see. So you two are his new companions" the blue hedgehog said slowly. "And tell me, does he act as a complete jerk with you too?". At that remark Shadow's shoulders tensed and he couldn't help but notice. 'Gotcha' he thought amused. Then went on: "He has never been really nice with me and my friends. Always growling at us to leave him alone, even trying to kill us at times! He didn't behave with Egghead either, even if he was actually working for him. Oh, and they way he treated his own teammates! I'll never understand how Rouge can put up with him!"

"Really?". Molly sounded surprised. "We knew that Shadow had a bad temper, but I have never thought he could behave that bad! I don't say he is usually nice, quite the contrary, but he respects and cares for us!"

"Are we talking about the same hedgehog?" Sonic asked, clearly to tease his dark counterpart, but the two humans seemed not to understand his goal. "It sounds so odd to me…"

"Of course we are! And, for the record, I think _you_ are the one who is exaggerating the whole thing!" Abel exclaimed, coming in defence of his friend. "He may not have a strict moral, but he still has some principles!"

"Will you two stop letting him have his way with you?" the black hedgehog interjected, turning around. He had heard enough. "He is pulling your leg, don't you see it?". He had to put an end to that farce, even if it meant playing along with his rival. He couldn't allow the faker to tease him and his companions that much. His crimson eyes met emerald one. "Haven't you talked about a race before, fake hedgehog?"

"Feeling competitive now, Shadow?" Sonic asked with a grin holding his cold gaze. "That's the part of you I like most! Let's race! Down to this road, across the town and then straight to the cliff! How does it sound?"

"It sounds like you are going to lose, Faker" Shadow answered smirking in turn. "You can't win against me."

"We'll see that, Mr. Ultimate Life Form!" the other retorted cockily and taking some steps to stand by his counterpart's side. "Speed is my field, don't forget it!"

The two creatures exchanged glances and briefly nodded before speeding up at the same time and disappearing for the view of the two humans, who kept staring at the point where they were only a few seconds before.

"What has just happened?" Abel asked, still surprised by the sudden departure.

"Old rivalry, I guess!" Molly answered, patting his back. "Let them have their fun. They both love running. Maybe this will keep them from fighting for real! Shadow was getting quite pissed off. _Again_…"

"Yeah, you are right…" he nodded slowly. "I just hope that nothing happens."

She gave him a questioning look. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you probably hadn't noticed because Shadow is a good actor, but I've learnt to understand his body language too well to be fooled. He still hasn't completely recovered from using the chaos blast" he explained. "I'm a bit worried about it."

"Do you think he could faint for the lack of energy?" the girl asked, now really concerned. "I mean, come on, it's just a run!"

"Not actually fainting, he isn't that weak, but if he overdoes there's the risk that he ends up exhausting himself to his limits. And you know what happens when he does."

"Oh no! I haven't thought about that! What do we do?"

The young doctor crossed his arms. "Unfortunately there's nothing we could do. I should have stopped him when I could. But I didn't have the time…Let's just reach the town and hope that everything will be alright. I trust his self-control. The real problem is that he doesn't know anything about this small detail…"

"We need to tell him as soon as he comes back. We can't risk again like the other times! I told you more than once! Until we were at the station it was fine, you had the means to control him, but now other people could get involved!"

"I know and I apologise for delaying, but try to understand me, I don't even know what happens to him! I don't have an explanation for the phenomenon!"

Molly took a deep breath. "I'm not mad at you, Abel. Just…Let's talk to him later. We tell him what happens, we don't strictly need to give him a scientific explanation. It's just to prevent the problem from happening again."

"Alright, we'll do it. He will get mad at me because we waited so long before informing him! Oh, I hope he won't stop talking to me again…"

"Don't think about it. We'll survive that! The important thing is that everybody, including Shadow himself, will be safe around him."

"Yeah, I guess you are right…"

The two started to walk again, each lost in their own thoughts. Abel's mind was back to the data he had collected and was desperately trying to figure out what led to the inconvenient. Molly's considerations were much darker. She didn't understand the meaning of all that. What was the purpose of it? The doctor had told her that it had something to do with self-preservation, but she wasn't convinced. Fighting for your own survival was a thing, but…_that_ was completely different. Maybe that famous Dr. Eggman whom their dark friend often mentioned could have helped them understand the true nature of the problem. They could pay him a visit after getting the Rings back. He lived on that planet as well after all. She lifted her gaze towards the still clouded sky. 'Please, Shadow, forgive us for keeping you in the dark about it. And be careful, my friend!'


	5. Shades of rivalry

Hey guys!

I'm updating even earlier this week! I wanted to give you some kind of Halloween present, even if the chapter has nothing to do with Halloween itself xD I've seen a lot of amazing works dedicated to the festivity around and I felt like I need to do something too! I didn't have the time to write something related to Halloween but the chapter was half done so I worked on it! So, enjoy your Halloween, my friends! 'Cause I'm going to! I'm working on my costume, and I hope I will be able to do a good work with it!

Anyway, back to the story! In this chapter we could see something related to what Molly and Abel were talking about in the previous one. What's wrong with Shadow? What is that black energy?

Tails is back in the picture, but will get to see the whole gang soon! Shadow and Sonic have a strange and unexpected heart to heart talk too. I hope it wasn't too much out of character! I quite enjoyed describing Shadow's uneasiness around the most normal things...It's a kind of life he has never experienced!

Thanks a lot to BlazePyro and the guest for commenting the previous chapter! I really appreciate your interest! Let me know what you think about the chapter! Please, review!

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 5 – ****_Shades of rivalry_**

The people walking along the streets could only see two blurs, one blue and the other black, rushing head and head by their side, making some hats fly off the heads that were carrying them. The two hedgehogs nimbly dodged every obstacle, both focused on the race and without any intention to lose to the other.

Sonic was euphoric. It had been such a long time since he had had the chance to challenge someone who could actually keep his pace even when he used all his speed. It was a strange but pleasant feeling and it made him wanting to go even faster. He felt like he could run forever, never pausing, not even for a moment, and be happy that way. As soon as they reached the forest again he sped up, shooting at his rival a defiant look. Shadow could be the Ultimate-whatever, but _he_ was the fastest thing alive with no doubt. His body seemed to benefit from the mix of satisfaction and joy that the challenge was giving him and worked better than usual, even after the recent fight against Eggman's robot. He felt much more motivated. He would never admit it aloud, but it seemed that the black hedgehog was a cure-all for his mood and body.

Shadow, on the other hand, was just focusing on what he was doing, trying to ignore the fact that he was actually having some fun. It was rare to find opponents who could compete against him like the blue hedgehog did. It wasn't only a fact of being able to match his powers in a fight or his speed in a run. Every time he had found someone worth of his respect as a fighter, he had been forced to destroy them because they were a threat for the universe. For some reason strength seemed to associate with evil most of the times. That was one of the reasons that made is rivalry with Sonic somehow special. He shook his head lightly. What a silly thought. He should be worrying about more important things, like the fact that his energy was starting to run low. The chaos blast had tired him more than he had wanted to admit.

In that moment he saw Sonic speeding up and going past him to throw himself in the woods. Their eyes met, ruby in emerald, for a brief moment and the dark hedgehog knew that his pride would have never forgiven him if he had lost that challenge. He ignored the signals coming from his limbs and forced himself to catch up, sinking his fangs in his lower lip to distract himself from the unpleasant sensation of his body becoming heavier and heavier. He couldn't give up.

However, as soon as he reached his opponent, he started to notice that something was wrong. The fatigue that had burdened his limbs was starting to disappear and a new power was growing inside him. The odd thing was that he didn't feel less tired and his conscience kept on fading. He absently noticed that the blue blur had surpassed him again, and instinctively sped up. The feeling became stronger at that and Shadow started to find hard to understand what he was doing. His eyes fell on his body and he noticed that there was a strange dark glow all around him. He was caught by surprise and stumbled a bit, confused. His mind, on the other hand, didn't show any sort of interest for the phenomenon and he felt his own thoughts trying to focus, against his will, again and only on the race. Why not exploiting that new power after all? It felt like he could do anything. The temptation to just let go was strong.

'_Shadow, stop_!'. A voice that sounded like Maria's one exploded into his mind, awakening him from the trance that had almost caught him. He regained the control of his body and stopped his skating movements. The mysterious energy immediately disappeared, leaving him even more drained. The black creature felt his legs giving out and he fell on the ground rolling for some meters until his back crashed into a tree. He let out a frustrated groan and slowly sat up, leaning on his arms. What the hell had been going on with him just a moment before? He knew that he had already experienced something similar, but he couldn't remember when.

Sonic saw the scene out of the corner of his eye and stopped as soon as he realised, not without a surprised sound, what had happened. He quickly ran back to where his rival was and found him seated against the tree, arms crossed and eyes closed. "Shadow! What was that?" he asked with a grin. "Don't tell me you tripped! I can't believe it! That's not the kind of mistake that suits the Ultimate…". He didn't finish the sentence seeing that the other wasn't listening to him. He had opened his eyes and his usual frown had deepened. "Hey, is there something wrong? Are you hurt?" he immediately inquired, aware of the silliness of his questions. But he couldn't help it after seeing Shadow's serious face. Something was definitely not right.

"I need to see Abel. He owes me some explanation" the latter mumbled pensively, getting up with difficulty. "I knew that there was something he and Molly were keeping from me, but I had no idea that it was so serious. They'd better tell me the truth now."

"What are you talking about?" the blue hero asked again.

This time Shadow seemed to notice him. "None of your business, Faker" he harshly answered.

"Oh, it is instead! You just fell down before me! And now you can barely walk!" Sonic insisted stubbornly. "I want to know what's going on since I would have to help you back to the town considering your conditions!"

"I've never asked for your help and I don't need it". The dark creature slapped away the hand that was offered to him as a support. But then he said: "I've just lost energy. The chaos power I used to destroy the Doctor's machine had drained me more than I had thought. Without my Rings I can't control the use of energy."

"So that's why those things are so important for you! Well, let's go and get them!". On the blue hedgehog's face appeared a teasing smirk. "You don't want to _faint_ on your rival, do you?"

Shadow gave him a dirty look. "Just wait for me to recover and you'll regret all your cockiness. I've warned you". He took a careful step forward, leaving the trunk. His legs were working again, which meant he could walk. 'But not run' he reminded himself. He couldn't afford to take the risk. If it hadn't been for that voice in his head who knew what would have happened. "Make yourself useful and show me the way."

The blue blur bit back a smart remark and nodded, not trusting his voice. He didn't want to piss the other creature off even more. No matter how weak he could be at the moment, his rival was still dangerous even in that poor condition. He waited for him to come closer and then started to walk by his side, trying not to stare every time the other let out a tiny but still audible groan, most likely because off his stiff limbs.

Their eyes met only once during the whole way and Shadow immediately looked away. Sonic almost felt bad for him. He was surely feeling frustrated, if not even humiliated, by his conditions. It was clear that keeping the pace of their walking cost him a lot of efforts, but he was too proud to slow down. The blue hero could fully understand him. He would have done the same in that situation. He pondered for a moment on offering his help again, but he decided against it, aware that he would have been rudely rejected. This was Shadow, not one of his friends. Even Knuckles would have accepted to put an arm around his shoulders as a support after grumbling for a while, but not the black hedgehog. He had even the feeling that his counterpart had some kind of dislike for any form of physical contact outside the battlefield.

The tension between them kept growing until the point the hero couldn't stand it anymore. And, since he was sure that the other had no intention of breaking the silence, he had to do it. "Listen, I was wondering…How long you and the two humans are going to stay here?" he asked, getting ready for a sharp reply.

"I don't know exactly. It depends on how much it will take us to gather the data we need" Shadow answered, surprisingly calm. "Once it took us a whole week to complete the task. But I think that a couple of days will be enough."

"Only two days? That's a pity! I hoped you'd stay longer since you have friends here. I want to race you again!" Sonic commented, gaining another nasty look. "What was that for?"

"I don't have friends here" the cold answer was.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, my bad. How do you call us? Your former _allies_?"

"Something like that. Anyway, even if I wanted, which I don't, I couldn't stay here longer. We are working, not on holiday."

"You companions seemed more in a holiday mood to me, actually."

"They don't take this job seriously enough. Besides, Abel has never left his planet before and all this travelling makes him hyperactive. He actually reminds me of someone". Red orbs focused harder on the blue figure. "And Molly is still young."

"You know what I think? That _you_ are the one who is always too serious! That's the real problem" the blue hedgehog retorted. He hid a smirk noticing how ready to defend his companions the other had been, but didn't comment. Most likely Shadow himself wasn't completely aware of his protective ways when it came to the two humans. "Try to take it easy for once. We aren't at war. You don't have to fight some threat! You have been sent to do a great job that allows you to travel around the universe! Learn to have fun!"

"You don't understand" Shadow stated quietly, glancing at his hands. "Nobody does."

"Well, I'm here! Try at least to explain me what I should understand!" Sonic protested. "I don't even see what's so wrong with relaxing and not being ice-cold towards everyone for once!"

"It would be a waste of time. You are right, you don't even see the problem. And, trust me, it's better if things stay this way". The dark creature pointed the first buildings that had started to appear. "We have arrived."

The blue blur was about to open his mouth to insist and to tell him that they weren't finished when a voice he knew too well screamed in a high tone: "SONIC!"

"Oh no! Amy!" he groaned, looking helpless. "I thought I have succeeded in avoiding her for the whole day!"

"I'd better go looking for Molly and Abel. I'm fine enough to run now" Shadow announced. "I'll see you later for the Rings."

"Shadow, wait!" the hero exclaimed, running after him and ignoring the disappointed yells behind his back. "You can't leave me with her like that! I'm coming with you!"

"Tsk, I thought she was your friend."

"She is! But I don't like her when she starts rambling about being my _girl_friend!"

The two sped up along the road, looking for the two humans, but they seemed to be nowhere. They had to look around almost all the town before finding them seated in the garden of Tails and Sonic's house, which was a bit outside the residential area. Molly was enjoying some kind of drink, while Abel and the fox were in a deep conversation, which wasn't surprising considering the fact that they had the same kind of intellect.

The girl was the first to notice them. "Oh, for the universe! Shadow!" she exclaimed jumping on her feet and throwing herself at him. "We were so worried! Abel succeeded in convincing me that something bad had happened to you!"

Shadow tentatively hugged her back before pushing her away gently. "I'm fine, Molly. Luckily nothing happened" he reassured her. "But you two will have to explain me something as soon as we are alone."

Abel approached him too, relief written on his face. "I'm glad to hear that!" he said. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. "So you noticed it this time. I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but I wanted to find out its cause before telling you. However, I couldn't do that either."

"It's fine, doctor. But this has to be the last time you keep something like that from me" he stated, calmly but firmly. Then he turned towards the fox boy who had been politely waiting for the three to end their discussion. "Good evening, Tails. I apologise for the intrusion."

"Don't worry, I'm used to this kind of things. Besides, your companions are a nice company" the little genius chuckled. "It's good to see you again, Shadow."

The black hedgehog nodded in agreement, while Sonic stared at the whole scene with wide eyes. His rival had told him to go away almost without giving him the time to say "hi" and now he was having a polite chat with his best friend. That wasn't really fair.

"Wait a sec! Why did you treat me like I didn't exist and now you are so easily talking to Tails instead?!" he complained. "I didn't know you had preferences! I'm hurt!"

"He is able to carry out a conversation without boasting around, something you can't do" the Ultimate Life Form pointed out. He couldn't deny that he quite liked the fox kid, he was smart enough for his tastes and he had shown to have enough courage to stand against him. "That's it."

"Always so _nice_, Shads!"

The other four laughed at the exchange, gaining a disapproving glare from the black creature. Tails smiled seeing his best friend almost pouting at their amusement before joining the laughter. That was an unexpected way to reunite with their former firstly enemy and then ally. He and Sonic had put up a fight every time they had crossed each other's path and it felt strange seeing them just talking, even if not exactly in a friendly way.

"Why don't we go inside and have something to eat? It's almost suppertime and I bet that we are all hungry" he proposed exploiting the light mood. "You three could tell me your story. I want to know how you have survived once again, Shadow! It's simply unbelievable!"

"Ultimate Life Form here, remember?" the blue blur said jokingly, daring to hang an arm around Shadow's shoulders and preventing him from saying anything. "He himself is incredible!"

The other pushed him away. "Don't take these liberties with me, Faker. I'm not your friend" he warned. "Don't forget it."

"Ah, Shadow! Why do you have to be so cold?" Abel complained glaring at his assistant in disapproval. "They have just opened up their house for us! Try at least to be a bit grateful! Anyway, we will gladly join you for dinner if it's not too much trouble, Tails!"

"Don't worry, it's fine!" the fox reassured them. "Come on, let's go inside! You can stay in the living room while I'm cooking."

"Actually, we wanted to help you. It will be quicker this way!" Molly hurried to say. "And it will also be our way to thank you!"

"Any help is welcomed! Just don't let Sonic near the cooker. Last time it almost exploded" Tails joked, leading the others inside. "Shadow, I guess you aren't going to lend us a hand, are you?"

"No, I'm not. But I'll keep an eye on the blue hedgehog if this is what you are asking for" the dark creature answered.

"Hey, I don't need a baby-sitter!" the blue hero protested, but he was trying not to laugh. "Maybe we should say that _I_'ll keep an eye on Shadow!"

"You can watch each other then!" the orange-haired girl stated, pointing the living room. "And, Shadow, please try to be nice. Do it for me?"

The two hedgehogs watched their three companions disappearing inside the kitchen, before heading for the next room. Sonic let himself fall on the sofa with a sigh, while Shadow stood at the threshold, looking around. He had never actually been in a real house. He had seen the ARK cabins, Eggman's headquarters and spaceship, Molly's and Abel's lodgings at the research station. But that was the first time he entered in a building that had the only purpose of hosting somebody. It was nothing special, but it still caught his attention.

"You OK? Don't you like the place?" the blue hedgehog asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Come on, sit down! You must be still tired."

"It's nothing" he mumbled, but he joined him on the couch, sitting with his arms crossed. "I guess I _should_ ask how you have been in these months."

"But you won't, will you? Well, I'll answer anyway" the other grinned, giving him a meaningful glance. "Everything has gone back to normal after we came back here. Eggster has gone back to his plans to build his empire, as you have seen, and Chris has been sent back to his world. I miss the kid, he was a very good friend". His last sentence gained him a nod of agreement from his rival, but he decided not to comment on it. If he wanted to convince him to talk he had to try not to tease him too much. "As for me, I'm back to my old life. Running, spending time outside, enjoying the nature, fighting huge robots and helping my friends when they need me. That's all". He glanced at his speaker. "Are you going to snap and then seal your lips if I ask you the same question?"

Shadow glared at him. "Molly has told me to be nice and I don't want to disappoint her. After the battle I spent two months in a coma and I woke up with no memory at all. I didn't even know my name. Abel helped me to remember, which led to three months of migraines and nightmares. After that, I just spent my time working with him at his many experiments and wandering around the planet". He lifted his pendant. "I have no idea of where the chaos emeralds are, but Abel managed to make this for me. Its energy is similar to theirs and allows me to use chaos control. That's all."

"Nothing is ever easy for you, is it? And, wow, you have actually said more than two sentences without insulting me!" Sonic joked, faking shock. "That's a start! I was just wondering what that thing around your neck was! Oh, speaking about your things, I still have the Inhibitor Rings!". He got up. "Come on, follow me. They are upstairs in my room!"

"Why do I have to come? Isn't it better if you just go and get them?" the black hedgehog pointed out. He wasn't comfortable with going around other people's bedrooms. He considered them really private places, and maybe that was why he didn't have one. He didn't want to risk that somebody could get inside. At the ARK he used to share a cabin with Maria and he was fine with that, but he hadn't entered any other bedroom without a good reason since then, not even the ones of his two new friends. In theory he shared the lodging with Molly, but he was never there. He preferred staying in the lab and sleeping on the roof. So why should he go to his _rival's_ room?

"Come on, don't be lazy, Shads!" the blue blur pressed, standing in front of him. "I'll show you the rest of the house too. I guess you and the others will be staying the night. And I noticed you have become quite fascinated with the place…". He let his voice trail off on the last sentence and kept watching him expectantly.

He lifted his eyes. So the idiot had grasped his interest. Great. "Ok, Faker, you won. I'm coming with you" he gave up and got on his feet in turn. "Let's make this quick. And I've already told you to stop using that nickname."

"As you wish! But I wouldn't count on me stopping if I were you!" Sonic sang, gaining a nasty look and leading him outside the living room. "Well, on this floor we have only the kitchen, the sitting room and Tails's lab. Upstairs there are the bedrooms and the bathroom. Easy, isn't it?"

They reached the first floor. Four doors opened on the corridor. Two of them had a letter carved in their wooden surface, clearly their owners' initials. The hero went straight to his own and entered, leaving the door opened for Shadow, who peeked inside without crossing the doorstep. It was quite bare, with only a few pieces of furniture, a couple of posters on the walls and a large window. Somehow it fitted his blue counterpart, even if he would have expected some spectacular detail that could match the blue one's tendency to show off. The said hedgehog had grabbed the casket he kept on his nightstand and was now staring at him again. He blinked in surprised, realising that all that gazing was making him uneasy, but quickly hid his discomfort. He should have been used to it, most people couldn't tear their eyes away from him when he walked along the streets.

"Is it a new habit?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Excuse me?" he inquired, not grasping the meaning of his words.

"Standing on thresholds. It's the second time you do it" the other explained. "It's a bedroom, Shadow, it has no intention of eating you!"

He frowned deeply, but took a step inside, pausing for a moment before approaching his rival. "Give me those Rings and let's end it."

"You are even weirder than I thought" the blue hedgehog chuckled, taking the objects out of the box. "Here you are!"

The black one took Rings and put them around his wrists, watching them for a moment. He immediately felt better. Now he was sure that he would no longer risk losing the control of his chaos powers. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked then, turning his attention back to his speaker. "What I have done now?"

"I didn't mean it as a bad thing! Just…You act quite _differently_ when we are on the battlefield. You never hesitate, almost never explain…You just go and fight. That isn't exactly how a normal person would behave, even when totally focused on his task. And that's weird, but I've gotten used to it" the latter explained rubbing his ear, a little uncomfortable. He didn't like the serious look that the other was giving him. "But now that we are in a completely different situation you are even a bit…like a fish out of water. You are as quiet as usual, but you are too careful than necessary and very suspicious about everything. You don't seem to be at your ease at all. And it is weirder because this is one of the most normal possible situations. It's daily life. Now, I know you don't have great social skills, but I never thought you'd be so hopeless."

"Hopeless, you say?". Shadow's tone was neutral, but in his eyes there was a spark of what could be interest. "This is the first time that somebody calls me that way."

Sonic sat on his bed, leaning on his elbows. "There's always a first time!" he stated solemnly, but the grin never left his face. He was quite satisfied with the reactions he had got from his rival. The dark creature was slowly getting more relaxed and that pleased him.

"And today is a day for firsts, it seems…" the Ultimate Life Form whispered to himself.

"Come again?" the hero asked, perplexed. Then he patted the space next to him. "And would you sit down by your own? Or do I have to tell you everything you have to do? You are acting like you've never been at someone's place!"

"That's because I've never have". The black hedgehog didn't move from his spot near the nightstand. He kept a blank expression when the blue one stared back at him, eyes wide with astonishment. "I'm not exactly someone whom a sane person would invite at his or her house, don't you think?"

"Uh, you are right. So this is what you meant…". The hero tried to sound not taken aback by the news, but inside he was completely astonished. He couldn't imagine Shadow having some sort of social life, but he still found incredible what he had just heard. Then again, it hit him that the dark one hadn't even had the chance to do that kind of things, even if he had wanted it. He'd grown up in a space colony as the product of a lab, and he had spent unconscious, recovering from his battles, the time he hadn't been fighting. Considering that it wasn't such a big surprise the fact that he had no idea of how to behave. He had never had a normal daily life. And his experience with Molly and Abel didn't count since once again he had locked himself in some kind of laboratory, that, he was sure, reminded him of the ARK. Shadow had tried, consciously or unconsciously, to rebuild the only kind of peaceful life he knew. No wonder that he had associated himself once again only with a girl and a scientist. He could almost see the chains made of old memories and hard times that tied the Ultimate Life Form to the same, unbreakable schemes and manners. And he couldn't stand it, being the free spirit he was. He hated every kind of imposed limits and his rival was literally trapped by the worst ones. He had to do something.

A resolute expression appeared on his face and he leant out to grab the dark creature's arm. The latter was taken by surprised and didn't have the time to react as Sonic pulled him down towards the bed, forcing him to sit down by his side.

"It wasn't that hard, was it?" the hero laughed, seeing the other's unsettled expression. "Relax! You aren't doing anything wrong! This is how two friends…or _rivals_ taking a break from their contrasts, if you prefer…hang out together!". He cracked a hopeful and cheerful grin, hoping that Shadow wouldn't just decide to tear his head off without warning.

The other hedgehog simply stared at him with his usual frown, not showing any other emotion and making him wonder if he hadn't just ruined everything with his claims to fix a problem that didn't concern him so far. He forced himself to hold that cold gaze and looked directly in the red globes that at the moment were even more unfathomable than usual. Those eyes had always made shivers run down his spine, since the first time he had seen them, back in the other dimension. There was a whole dark universe beneath them, a world that nobody would never completely understand. Yet, its mystery was almost irresistible.

Shadow kept quiet, abandoning his previous thoughts to focus on the gazes competitions. He had to admit that the blue blur had surprised him, proving himself to be much smarter than he had thought. He had probably grasped the main cause of his uneasiness and was trying, in his personal, exuberant way, to help him to get more comfortable. He refrained himself to roll his eyes in annoyance at that, but deep down he felt a hint of gratitude. He didn't quite get how the cocky hedgehog could still treat him so friendly after he had tried to kill him and his precious friends. That was something linked to the concepts of trust and companionship that he would probably never understand. But he still felt like he had to do something in exchange. That's what Maria had taught him.

'_Remember, Shadow, in your life you will meet a lot of different people, especially once we will go to the Earth. Some of them will be not so nice or even nasty with you, as some of the scientists here at the colony are. But others will show you the most precious things you'll ever find in your life: friendship and love. A deep bond, like the one you and I share. Hold on to them, Shadow. Because they are the only ones who can give a real meaning to your existence._'

He had stared at her with confusion, unable to comprehend what she was saying. She had laughed and ruffled his quills, stating that one day he would understand what she meant and he would thank her. The irony was that he had grasped it right in the moment when she had given up her life to save him. The promise he had made to her had become the sense of his existence and the symbol of their bond. He instinctively lowered is eyes at the memory, to conceal the sorrow that slowly filled them. That had been so unfair. She was joyful, lively, good and brave, one of the most beautiful incarnations of life in his eyes. She knew how to live at her full, even if she had grown up among metal walls as well. Yet, she was fragile, as every existence was. And she had died, leaving behind a creature who knew almost nothing about the meaning of living. That was so _wrong_.

"Uh, Shadow?" Sonic called, not knowing how to interpret that sudden change of attitude.

The black hedgehog came immediately back to the present, and put on a blank expression. "I still have some problems with my memories" he stated coldly. "Forget about it."

The hero didn't seem convinced at all and dared to ask: "You were thinking about her, weren't you?". He didn't need to say her name.

Shadow for a moment thought to growl him to mind his own business, but Maria's words came into his mind once again. "Yes" he simply admitted. Then he let out a brief hollow laugh. "She would have wanted me to befriend you. And I'm quite sure she would have liked you a lot."

The blue blur's smile took a hint of sadness. "And I would have been more than glad to meet her" he said quietly. "After all she is the only one who seems to have some good influence on you! She must have been a great girl."

The Ultimate Life Form nodded. It felt odd talking to Sonic about something so personal. He had opened up like that only with Molly, and only a few times. But he couldn't stop his words. "She wasn't a normal human, she was special. She taught me several things, even if I still don't understand most of them. But I owe her everything, and I would have even if she hadn't given up her life for me". He hesitated for a second, but the rare serious look on his rival's face pushed him to go on. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm worth her sacrifice."

Sonic titled his head slightly. He wasn't expecting such a heart-to-heart talk from his counterpart, and he was well aware that if he spoke the wrong words he would never have another chance to start a more friendly relationship with him. He decided for straightforwardness. It was always the right choice for him. "You may not care about what I think, but, if you ask me, I say she had done a great work. You're not the best kind of person in the universe and a good part of your personality is actually awful". He allowed himself a chuckle at that. "But they are the traits that make you Shadow the Hedgehog, the cold-hearted bastard that has saved us all more than once and the _faker_ that deep inside is not as bad as he wants to appear. She loved you for what you are and I can see why she did. If you only smiled more, we could say that you are more than worth her choice. The universe, which owes you its existence, would surely agree with me."

Shadow stared at him, openly surprised by the speech. Then the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. "I'm impressed by your use of rhetoric. I didn't know you could be that good, _Sonic_". He stood up. "We'd better go back downstairs, I can hear Molly calling for us. I don't want her to think that I've killed you and run away."

The hero's smile grew wider as he heard his name coming out from the other's lips. That was the dark creature's way to make him know he had appreciated his efforts. A direct "thank you" wouldn't have been in Shadow's style and besides for him those sarcastic but sincere words meant more than any other sign of gratitude. "I have a lot of hidden qualities!" he playfully boasted getting up in turn. "You'd never imagine!"

The dark hedgehog snorted quietly but threw him an amused glance as they left the room. His visit on Mobius was taking an odd turn, but it also offered some interesting sides. Maybe they could stop there for a while, considering that Molly and Abel were getting very much along with his former allies. He shot another brief look to his rival. Yes, they certainly should.


	6. Stepwise

Hello, everybody!

I'm back with the new chapter! This time we got to see Rouge, only if for a short time (yeah, because I put another long flashback xD), but don't worry she will have her part as well later on! She is one of the few who seems to understand Shadow (at least a bit) and she didn't fail to notice that there is something different in him...The flashback is once again about Molly and Shadow's time on Abel's planet and I hope it will help to understand the little changes Rouge has noticed!

A special thanks to BlazePyro, Jitenon, the guest and Danny-Kara-Finn for reviewing! I really appreciate your interest! Please review, feedback is really important for me! Thanks a lot to everyone for reading too! It helps me improve and understand if I'm doing something wrong!

Enjoy!

**Warnings:** the story will contain shonen-ai (Shadow x Sonic, Sonadow, meaning male x male), if you don't like, **don't read**, _please! _Rating is for future reference to violence!

**Disclaimer:** I **do not** own Sonic X or the characters. All characters are properties of Sega and Sonic Team.

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**Chapter 6 – ****_Stepwise_**

The dinner was wrapped in a cheerful atmosphere. Molly and Abel told their hosts the full story of how they and Shadow had met, and the girl briefly spoke about her origins and how she had ended up with the scientist. Tails was captured especially by the description of that planet far away, which appeared to him as the paradise of technology. The two geniuses lost themselves in their discussions about complicated theories and projects, while the orange-haired girl asked Sonic to tell her about the war against the Metarex since Shadow had never given her many details.

The latter kept quiet for all time and almost didn't touch the food, taking some bites only to please his female companion. He really wasn't in the mood for eating and he gladly avoided it since his body allowed him to go on for a long time without the need of any physical sustenance. As they moved into the living room to carry out the conversation, he simply sat between the speaking pairs, looking out of the window, lost in his thoughts.

In the end the two humans and the fox started to show signs of sleepiness and they decided to call it a day and go to sleep. Abel took the guest room, while Sonic succeeded in persuading the girl to use his room, stating that he mostly slept outside. Nobody asked the dark hedgehog about where he was going to sleep. They all know that he could manage everything on his own. In fact, as soon as his companions were gone, he left the house, mumbling a brief "goodnight" in Tails's direction.

The fox boy raised an eyebrow but then shrugged. "He is certainly doing his best to ignore you" he commented to his best friend, yawning. "I really can't understand him."

"Don't worry, Tails, he is just keeping up appearances!" the blue hedgehog said, crossing his arms and glancing at the main door. His mind went back for a moment to the exchange he had had with his counterpart before. "We actually had a pretty interesting conversation before dinner, which surprised me a lot."

"If you say so…". Tails stretched a bit. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow! Try not to piss him off, ok? Goodnight!"

"I won't, little bro. Sleep well!". The blue hedgehog ruffled the fur on the top of his younger companion's head and watched him disappear upstairs. Then he went out in the garden, but his rival was nowhere to be seen. So much Shadow-like. He shook his head and got on the roof. He was a bit tired himself so he thought that some hours of sleep would be good for him as well.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow" he mumbled, laying down, fingers intertwined behind his head. "At times I really wonder what goes on in that strange mind of yours, Shadow the Hedgehog…"

Rouge glanced at the clock from behind the counter. It was almost one in the morning, which meant that there were still three hours before closing time. She looked around, quite satisfied to see both the nightclub part and casino room of her club still crowed. Her businesses were running well and she had also got to know some interesting people who could give her precious information about some lovely jewel, like the little diamond she was wearing around her neck. Such a beautiful gem truly suited her dark figure.

She turned her attention to her costumers, chatting with them while serving the drinks they had ordered and doing a bit of flirting with the handsome cat guy who was sat right in front of her. She grinned inwardly, welcoming the compliments she was given. Entertaining the clients in the right way was one of the tricks of the trade.

The bat was so absorbed in her work that at first she didn't notice the black figure that had crossed the threshold of the club and had gone to stand in the darkest corner near the counter. It took her some more minutes to acknowledge his presence but, as soon as she did, she stopped in mid-sentence, taken aback by the sight. She blinked a few times, just to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her, then quickly excused herself from the group and went straight towards him, a mischievous grin painted on her lips. "Oh, who do I see! Good evening, Shadow! This afternoon I got the feeling that you have come back when that robot exploded…But I wasn't expecting a visit from you here! Where have you been?"

"Rouge. It's been a while" he greeted. "I had some business in another galaxy. And now there are things I need to take care of on this planet. But I'm not here to stay."

"Always a man of few words, aren't you? I would hug you, but I already know that it wouldn't make you pleased" she commented, not without a hint of sarcasm. "Are you alone this time? Or are still working for Eggman somehow?"

"I have no link with the Doctor. And I don't want to have any. Even if I'm not exactly on my own". He crossed his arms. "Do you remember Molly?"

"That poor girl from the Cascade planet?"

"Yes, her. She found me after the battle and I'm living with her and another guy now. I'm travelling with them. He is a scientist on his planet and this trip has the goal to collect information about this galaxy."

"I see". Rouge turned to grab two glasses and a bottle. "This is new to me. Shadow the Loner has two companions. Are you getting soft maybe?"

"They saved me. I'm in debt" the harsh reply was.

She laughed a bit. "Come on, don't get all worked up! I was just kidding!". She passed him one of the drinks. "Do you mind a toast? It's on the house."

He grabbed it nodding. "What do you want to drink to?"

"To your comeback to this planet and especially to _life_" she said lifting her glass with a more sincere smile. "To the Ultimate Life Form."

"To your business and to our reunion" he added. "To you, Rouge the Bat."

They clinked the glasses together and drank all in a go. The thief put on a pleased expression seeing how easily her old ally and teammate had accepted her offer. He wore his usual dark appearances, but to her watchful eye he seemed more relaxed.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"You are always a good sight" she joked with a playful wink. "And I'm quite intrigued by your sudden _helpfulness_, if we can call it that way. Your new companions must have some kind of good influence on you. Or so it seems. You have changed, Shadow."

"And you can deduce that only by the fact that I've accepted to drink with you?" the hedgehog asked with a sceptical tone. "I could just have had a good day."

"You never have a good day" Rouge answered very confidently, refilling their glasses. "At least, not the Shadow I used to work with."

"Instead I had a quite _interesting_ day". Shadow cracked a faint smile, careful not to show it. The bat had always had a great shrewdness, she didn't fail to notice the slightest change, especially in the things that interested her. And he was one of them. "Are you planning to get me drunk?" he asked then, pointing the new drink.

"Can the Ultimate Life Form get drunk?" she questioned back, smirking as he glared at her. "I guess you are not going to tell me about this "interesting day" of yours. By the way, where are you and your friends staying?"

"Tails's house. Molly and Able somehow arrived there and got along with the fox."

The bat looked surprised. "Doesn't the kid live with the blue hedgehog?"

"He does."

"And wasn't Sonic at home when they got there?"

"No. He was racing against me in the forest."

It was the thief's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I don't follow you."

The dark creature snorted, annoyed. "I don't see what's so difficult to understand. We landed here and, after I defeated that robot, the faker followed me. My companions are a bit too _talkative_ at times, so I was forced to separate them and the blue hedgehog. What is it that you don't get?"

"I don't get you and the other hedgehog having a friendly match" she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He shrugged a bit. "I'm not his enemy anymore, at least for the moment. But this doesn't mean I'm his friend either."

"Of course you aren't". Rouge laughed sipping her drink. "You simply don't care about what he does or doesn't as long as he stays out of your way."

"That's it". He ignored the hint of sarcasm in her voice. There was no way he was going to talk about Sonic, especially with her and especially after the last conversation he had had with his rival. He still didn't understand why he had told him those things. 'Maybe Rouge is right and I've become softer since I met Molly and Abel…' he mused, not really pleased by the thought. He took his glass and had a sip. "Shouldn't you go back to your costumers?"

Rouge's smirked widened. "Are you sending me away? Did I hit a nerve perhaps?" she inquired maliciously. "Anyway, I guess I should. Even if I would rather spend some more time chatting with my revived companion. Will you still be here when I come back to check on you?"

"I'll stay here all night, if that pleases you. I have nothing better to do" the uncaring answer was. "If you don't see me, look outside."

"Great!". She looked truly satisfied. "I still have two hours and half of work. Take whatever you want, drink or eat. For you it's all free. After that you could come and crash at my place."

The black hedgehog just nodded, shifting a bit on his chair to get more comfortable. He could do it. After all nobody was paying him any attention since he was hidden among the shadows. He usually didn't like crowded and noisy places, but in that part of the club the noise was still acceptable. Besides, he could always go outside and wait for Rouge there.

Shadow looked at the ceiling, his mind already spacing out. He could ask the bat about what had happened during his absence. He was more interested in hearing it from her than from everybody else because her point of view was neutral, even if he wasn't too fond of the frivolous comments she always added hither and yon. She always and only cared about her own business, just as he did, and maybe that was why they had always got along almost easily. Moreover, they had worked together many times under Eggman and he had to admit that the thief was a good teammate. It wasn't a coincidence if she had been the closest thing to a friend he had had after Maria and before his current companions.

He glanced at the bat's elegant figure, which was now moving among the little tables. He didn't regret having come and visited her. And it was all thanks to Tails, who during dinner had mentioned her club. After reaching the city he had just had to look around for a short while before finding it. The place was pretty famous. He removed his eyes away from his former ally and moved them across the room, before focusing on his now empty glass. The place reminded him of another one, less crowded and noisy, on Abel's planet where he and Molly had spent a sleepless night many months before. He sighed quietly. It was going to be a long wait before closing time.

_A year before, research station…_

Molly was walking along the corridors of the highest floors. She had just left the hangar after a meeting to discuss the results of the last trials she had done, but, in spite of the fact that it was late at night, she wasn't tired at all and she was looking for something to do. She had asked for Abel at the labs floor, but the technicians had told her that he was locked up in his own laboratory, all focused on some new chemical experiment, which meant he wouldn't be available until he was done. Or until the thing he was working on wouldn't explode, which wouldn't have been a surprise. That was why she was now heading towards the roof, almost certain that she would find her other companion up there. Shadow spent almost all his lonely nights watching the stars when he wasn't in the labs and when it wasn't raining.

She took the stairs, the soles of her boots hitting the smooth metal. She didn't get why the hedgehog didn't use the bed he had been provided in the lodging they theoretically shared. At first she had thought that he was somehow avoiding her, but he hadn't showed in any other way to dislike her company, fact that had led her to believe that there was a deeper reason behind his choice. Anyway, she at least knew where to find him.

As she reached the roof she felt those crimson orbs on her. Shadow must have heard her footstep approaching. She turned to face the black figure that was standing against the dark sky, almost confusing himself with it.

"Hey" she spoke softly, receiving a nod as a greeting. "How was your day?"

"Fine. Apart from those medical tests" the creature answered, moving his eyes back to the stars. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed? It's late."

"That meeting I told you about ended just twenty minutes ago. I don't feel like going to sleep and moreover tomorrow is my day off". She waited for a comment or similar, but the other just beckoned her to go on speaking. She hesitated for a moment. Her friend wore a strange look in his eyes, which meant he probably was once again lost in his memories when she had joined him. However, he didn't seem to be in a bad mood, in spite of everything. She could give her idea a try. "I was thinking we could do something together…if you want. I've been very busy lately and you had spent a lot of time away travelling around the planet. So, I thought we could make up for the lost time."

Shadow turned around again and approached her, his expression unfathomable. "Let's go" he just said, leaving her taking aback for some moments.

"S-Sure" she managed to answer in the end. She was sure that he would have agreed to her offer, but she had never thought that it would have been so easy. She briefly glanced at him, wondering what was going on in his mind, as they started to walk downstairs. After six months she still had a lot of troubles in following the creature's mood swings. In some occasions he was as much helpful as Shadow the Hedgehog could be, while other times he was simply impossible and it was difficult, if not dangerous, even approaching him.

They kept silent for all the way down to the building hall, walking side by side. The girl kept wondering if it had been a bad idea making that invitation, but atmosphere wasn't tensed and it made her hope that she had done the right choice.

The streets around the station were empty, apart from some stray animal that moved in the darkest corners, but, as soon as they arrived near the city centre, it got livelier and groups of people started to appear in front of the pubs entrances and near the many benches scattered around the city. Molly looked around, trying to remember the way. Some time before one of her colleagues had told her that there was a nice club somewhere in that area where the station employees usually went after work or on their day off. He had told her that she could get in even if she was underage by showing her pass. She had never been there before mostly because Abel always refused to leave his workplace for a reason that wasn't linked to his job and she hadn't wanted to go alone. She shot another look at Shadow. Now she had the chance to finally visit the place, even if she wasn't sure that her dark companion would like it.

Molly let that thought go as she spotted the right street on her left. She would discover it soon, there was no reason to hesitate. She had decided to give it a try and she would. Besides, she was getting the idea to exploit the situation to talk to him about something. The hedgehog simply followed her without asking, ignoring the glances that the people gave him as they made their way through the crowd. Which was a good sign, at least in the orange-haired girl's opinion.

Five minutes later they were in front of the hallway of the club. A young woman immediately came to welcome them, a big smile on her painted lips. Molly handed her the pass and asked for a table somewhere aside from the rest of the people.

"Sure, honey. And I'll take care of you personally!" the waitress answered cheerfully. Her green eyes fell on the dark creature. "I guess it's for your friend here. By the way, you are that alien they all mentioned from time to time, aren't you?"

Shadow glared coldly at her, showing no intention to answer, and the orange-haired girl immediately stepped between the two, a nervous smile on her face. "Sorry for his manners, he is not very sociable, especially with strangers" she quickly explained. "That's why I prefer not to catch the attention of everybody here."

"I see, there's no problem. At least he is just cold and quiet, while some of my costumers are really rude!" the woman commented, giving her a playful wink. "I actually like dark, mysterious guys! Now, follow me, dears! By the way, I'm Alex!"

Molly chuckled at that, while the hedgehog almost rolled his eyes. That human reminded him of a certain bat he knew. Alex led them into a corner of the place, where the table was half hidden by a small bookcase, then excused herself, leaving them the drink list.

"May I ask you why we are here?" Shadow finally spoke, looking at his friend who was seated opposite to him.

"I've wanted for a while to come here, so I just took the opportunity" she answered calmly, but kept her eyes on the menu. "I thought it could be nice staying if not with people at least near to them for once. I wanted to have a change of scenery."

"I see. But this is not the only reason, is it?" he stated, crossing his arms.

"No, it isn't". She smiled. "Is it that much obvious?"

"It is. For me at least. You keep playing with your hair and you do it only when you are nervous or worried about something" he said. He still wore his usual frown, but his tone didn't carry any hint of disapproval or annoyance. "So, what is it?"

Molly immediately let go the lock she didn't realised she was twirling around her finger. "I've been thinking, Shadow, I've been thinking about _you _recently" she started. "Quite a lot. Because that's what friends do, they care and worry about each other. And I'm concerned about you."

"Why should you be? My tests show that I'm almost perfectly fine. I no longer have those nightmares and my memory is back" he pointed out, giving her a questioning look. "I don't see what you are trying to say."

"I'm not talking about your physical health. I mean, you are the Ultimate Life Form and everything, I know your body is more than fine. I'm talking about your mind, Shadow" she explained finally looking at him. "I know that you can take care of yourself and that you are more than capable of making your own decisions. However…I wanted to show you this aspect of the world anyway". She opened her arms a bit. "This particular place, for example, it's a place where people come to have fun after work and to spend time with the ones they love. You can hear they laugh and talk and just relax. This is peacetime, Shadow. We don't have to fight anymore. _You_ don't need to fight". Her blue eyes fell on the silver pendant the other was wearing. "I know that you'll be there whenever a new threat will come, but for now you could just try to _live_. And with that I don't mean that you have to become sociable or something like that. It wouldn't be like you and I don't want that. I like you as you are. But you should try to drop those barriers you have all around your heart and give the universe a chance."

"Why should I? I'm fine with the current situation" the black hedgehog opposed. "I still don't understand what you are trying to say. I know we are in peace. I don't spend my days fighting. I do the things I feel like doing. What's wrong with that?"

Molly sighed. It was difficult, but she already knew it would have been. "Nothing is wrong with that. But being "fine" is not enough. You have lost and sacrificed a lot during your life, and now you deserve more, Shadow". Her eyes were filled with determination and she dared to take his hands in her owns. "What I'm asking you is to open up a bit and be less strict with yourself. Allow yourself to experience new things. Like how you are doing by helping Abel with his experiments. You have spent most of your life in a battlefield, there are so many things you don't know. I know it can be frightening and hard, especially considering that you are not a normal being, but don't be afraid of trying. Trust me, it is worth the risks and the pain you might get". She smiled softly. "I don't want you to survive as you are doing. I want you to live…and I want you to be _happy_. Choose the way you prefer to do it, but be happy, Shadow."

Her last sentence struck the Ultimate Life Form. For a moment before his eyes Molly's face became Maria's and their voices merged into one another. '_Be happy, Shadow_'. Those blue eyes that had meant anything to him were staring deep in his own, with so much affection that he thought he couldn't hold them. He knew what both girls were asking to him, but he wasn't sure he could comply. After his late friend's death happiness had always appeared as something out of his grasp, something so alien to him. Did he even know what it meant? Once he had thought that he did, but now he wasn't sure anymore. Too much had happened, he had lost too much.

He slowly recovered from his shock and he gently squeezed Molly's hands back. He couldn't bring himself to say no to her, as he had never been able to refuse anything to Maria. "I will try, Molly. But I can't swear you that I'll succeed" he stated, trying to conceal his inner turmoil. He couldn't promise something like that.

The girl's gaze lit up with joy. "It's more than enough for me, Shadow" she reassured him. "I'm here to help you. And I'm sure that Abel will be glad to lend you a hand as well. We are a family, we are together, for better or for worse!". She freed her hands from his grip and poked his face. "Let's start from the basic things. I want to see a smile instead of that frown!"

He raised an eyebrow, sceptical, but then let, not without some efforts, his amusement take over and crack a small grin. "You are the worst, Molly" he half-joked, shaking his head.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" she laughed, satisfied with the results she had gotten. "We have just started". She looked at Alex who had kept politely away, waiting for them to finish their talk. "Why don't we get something to drink now?"

"That's fine, under the condition that you choose what we are getting" he stated, leaning back against his seatback. It pleased him seeing her so bright. He wished he could share her happiness for real, but there were too many things preventing him from doing it.

"Deal!" she exclaimed, gesturing the waitress that they were ready.

_Present time, Mobius…_

Shadow came back to reality as he realized that the club was now almost empty. He had been so focused on his thoughts that he had completely lost the sense of time. Rouge was on the other side of the room, taking care of the last costumers as they prepared to leave. She would have come to him in no time.

He went back to the memory. After that day Molly and he had had other talks about the subject, even if she hadn't spoken so directly to him. In his behalf, he had just dropped it every time, even if the scene almost never left his mind. Maybe that could explain the small but actual changes in his behaviour, the ones that Rouge had noticed. He was trying to look at the universe with less suspect, although he could not really open up to a reality that had betrayed him so deeply. He had allowed the girl and the scientist to get close to him, to almost give him a new family, to show him once again what real friendship meant. And he had allowed himself to trust them. He also smiled at times, especially if his female companion was around, even though they were only faint grins. Baby steps, as Abel had told him once.

"Are you ready, Shadow?" the bat asked, approaching him, a bunch of keys in her hand.

"I am if you are" he answered getting up.

"We can go then! My place isn't far from here, it will take us only few minutes" she said, as they headed for the door. "So, are you going to tell me more about your new friends or do I have to force you?"

The corners of the hedgehog's mouth lifted up a bit. "We will see, Rouge…"


End file.
